A property owner was fined more than £1,000 after unlawfully turning a business site into a home.

Carol Hadian, of North Road in St Leonards, failed to apply for planning permission to change the use of a building from a business into a home, and then failed to respond to a planning contravention notice served by Hastings Borough Council by the April deadline.

Hadian, who was sentenced in her absence after failing to attend court last week, was fined the maximum amount of £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £243 and a victim surcharge of £100.