Antonio Banderas' Spain home to be torn down

A property belonging to Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas has become the latest to be threatened with demolition in a clampdown on illegal building by Spanish authorities.

The actor, famous for his role as masked crusader Zorro, has been given eight weeks to tear down part of the £5m beachfront holiday home that he shares with his American wife, the actress Melanie Griffith.

A court in Malaga has said that a 300 square foot wing of the six-bedroom mansion near Marbella on the Costa del Sol was built by the previous owner without the proper licence.

The edge of the walled property, named La Gaviota or The Seagull, extends onto a sandy beach in the exclusive residential area of Los Monteros, a ten-minute drive from Marbella town centre.

Neighbours have long argued that Banderas, who bought the property 11 years ago, is the victim of corrupt town hall officials who issued planning permission after illegally reclassifying green belt land in return for backhanders.

Hundreds of homeowners across the region, including many British expatriates, bought their homes in good faith and now risk losing their houses under plans by Spain's socialist government to target illegal properties.

Earlier this month Len and Helen Prior, a retired British couple, were among the first to have their home demolished after the regional government revoked the building licence issued by their town hall in Vera on the Costa Almeria.

Via telegraph.co.uk