Clapton wins battle to build fan-proof fence

Eric Clapton has won a legal battle with council planners to prevent fans peeping over his garden gate by building a huge fence.

The 63-year-old guitarist was fed up with music lovers hanging around outside his home in Ewhurst, Surrey, to catch a glimpse of him.

He was initially denied permission to build a 2.5m-high hardwood gate with a wrought iron spy hatch and CCTV at the property.

Waverley borough council ruled that his circumstances were not exceptional and said the high-security barriers would be harmful to the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

But planning inspector David Harmston has upheld Clapton's appeal against the decision after a site visit.

He said: "The appellant is a well-known celebrity. His home attracts people who seek to obtain views of him and his visitors as well as the house and grounds. Trespass is a possibility and his address is not a secret. The circumstances surrounding this appeal are exceptional."