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UK households with decking risk having to tear it down after a ruling. Belinda Klugah Cavill, from Chepstow, has lost a legal wrangle after she insisted that the raised platform in her garden was already there when she bought the property in 2023.

She maintained that it had been installed by the previous owner around 2004 or 2005. But officials at Monmouthshire County Council discovered photos on estate agents' websites, including Rightmove, showing differences in the decking between when the property was advertised in June 2023 and when it was listed in February 2013.

Planning inspector Richard Jenkins, who reviewed the appeal for PEDW, said: "The LPA (local planning authority) has provided a screenshot from an online platform that specialises in property sales, rents an

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