Becks' £120k fort 'needs permission'

Real Madrid and England soccer star David Beckham has been told to apply for planning permission for a play castle built in the grounds of his home.

Council officials wrote to Beckham, 29, and his wife Victoria, 30, after being told that the wooden structure had been built in the grounds of the couple's home in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire.

A spokeswoman for East Hertfordshire District Council said today that officials expected the Beckhams to make an application for retrospective planning permission in the near future.

She said: "We were informed that the structure had been erected in the grounds of the Beckhams' home.

"We have visited the problem and advised Mr and Mrs Beckham that because the structure is over four metres high, it will require planning permission.

"They have been advised to apply for retrospective planning permission. We haven't received that application yet but we are expecting to do so in the near future."

The play castle is a wooden construction which contains a mock tower,
drawbridge, slides and rope swings.

The couple have two children - five-year-old Brooklyn and two-year-old Romeo.