A pub landlord says he will appeal to the Government after he was told to remove a railway carriage from his beer garden or face possible legal action.

Adur District Council's planning committee is serving an enforcement order on Fred Courcha over the carriage at the Gardener's Arms in Sompting.

The authority gave permission last year for an old-style Pullman carriage to be put into the beer garden of the West Street pub with its wheels sunk 3ft into the ground to avoid cluttering the skyline.

But Mr Courcha used a standard 1962 British Rail carriage, meaning he had to apply for retrospective planning permission, which was refused in February.

The carriage, which is being used as a 100-seater restaurant, is the same size as the Pullman but has fewer doors. It has been painted to resemble the older-style car and renovated at a cost of about £60,000.

A council spokesman said: "In the face of continued objections from neighbours, we now have no option but to serve an enforcement notice. We agreed permission to put in a high-quality Pullman carriage because it would better fit in with the conservation area. Mr Courcha has gone ahead and put in a carriage that is so different from what was originally planned."

Mr Courcha, 57, said he had collected 200 signatures objecting to the council's stand. He said: "The carriage has been painted like a Pullman and everybody likes it."

He has three months to comply with the order or face possible legal action.