Council officers have been left in the doghouse after threatening to fine a struggling artist for putting up posters of his missing pets.

Anton Cataldo was hit with the £75 “fly-posting” fine after putting posters up near The Level in Brighton as he desperately tried to find two portraits he had created of his parents’ dogs.

Mr Cataldo had mistakenly left his paintings on the roof of his car and driven away.

When he realised what had happened he began a frantic search to find them.

The paintings, which depict labrador Sam and Oscar, a labrador-collie cross, have great sentimental value to the family, as Sam has died since the paintings were created.

Mr Cataldo said: “I did everything I could think of to find them. I put adverts on websites, left flyers in pubs and put up posters.

“I didn’t realise there was a law about putting posters up, as you quite often see them around.

“I was pretty upset about losing the paintings, so I wasn’t really thinking about breaking a council law.”

Mr Cataldo also approached The Argus for help. But after the story appeared in Thursday’s paper, Mr Cataldo was shocked to receive a fine from Brighton and Hove City Council.

A city inspection and enforcement officer used the email address Mr Cataldo had given for anyone who had seen the paintings, to inform him he was issuing a fixed penalty notice.

The email said: “We have taken this action in relation to, but not exclusively, an article which appeared in The Argus, dated Thursday 2nd April, 2009.

“Brighton and Hove City Council have removed several of these posters. Some of these posters had been stapled to trees. You appear to have little understanding that trees are living things.

“Wounding the bark of a tree in any way can lead to attack by airborne fungal spores which, in the worst case scenario, could lead to the loss of the tree.”

Mr Cataldo said: “I found the email quite patronising. It was the first response I got back from the article, so I’d already lost two paintings and then been lumbered with a fine.”

However just three hours later, council bosses did a U-turn and told Mr Cataldo he would not have to pay the fine.

Gillian Marston, assistant director for the environment, apologised for the first email Mr Cataldo had received and cancelled the fine.

Mr Cataldo said: “I was pretty surprised to hear back from them so quickly and they were really apologetic.

“I definitely won’t be going near a tree with a staple gun in the future, though.”

A council spokesman said: “This was probably a case of an officer who was a little bit overzealous.”