Lizards are on the brink of saving a couple's £15,000 wall from being knocked down.

Brett and Stephanie Dancy carefully selected Devon rustic stone to blend in with the pebbles at their seafront home.

Builder Mr Dancy set about creating the wall and when it was finished neighbours said how much it improved the area.

The couple were bitterly disappointed when planners claimed they did not have permission - despite the Dancys saying they did - and said the wall would have to be torn down.

But the wall, in Old Fort Road, Shoreham Beach, could stay because a colony of sand lizards has moved in and it is illegal to destroy their habitat.

Mr Dancy, 38, said: "There are hundreds of lizards living in there. The stone has lots of nooks and crannies which is an absolute haven for them."

In December 2003 the Dancys were told they could buy a 15ft section of beach behind their home from Adur District Council.

Mr Dancy had already started work on building a wall at the front of his home and decided to extend it to the rear to make the garden safer and stop litter and debris blowing in.

But the sale of the land fell through and Mr Dancy has been ordered to pull down his handiwork.

In October 2004 Mr Dancy was told to stop all work but as the wall was almost complete he felt he had to finish it to prevent it from being dangerous. But the council sent him letters ordering him to tear it down or face further action.

Mr and Mrs Dancy are hoping the lizards will mean the wall will stay and residents have organised a petition campaigning on their behalf.

A council spokeswoman said: "Mr Dancy never owned the land. He has never had permission to build on the land. He has never had planning permission to use the land as a garden. The council will be taking legal action to have Mr Dancy's works removed, unless he agrees to remove them himself."

A spokeswoman for English Nature said: "Sand lizards are very rare and anyone deliberately destroying their habitat is liable to a fine."