A woman was told she has the ‘cheek of the devil’ as she was told she must pull down a wooden building she built without permission.

Jita Lukka bought the plot of land in Hampstead, north London, in 2017 for £700,000 and built a ramshackle home she called Bren Cottage.

Neighbours complained to Camden Council that it had been built illegally but Lukka claimed she did not need permission to build it because she was just improving the existing buildings of a former squatters’ site.

She said in an interview last year that she was not a property developer and that she ‘just made somewhere peaceful to live’ before appealing the council’s previous decision.

The artist has now been given four months to tear the building down.

The inspector said he was ‘not convinced’ that the buildings were ‘substantially completed’ when Ms Lukka moved in and that she had build them without permission.

Ellen Solomons, of The Vale of Health Society, previously said: ‘This woman has the cheek of the devil – we felt we had to take a stand.

‘We couldn’t believe anyone would have the brass neck to do such a thing.’

‘I’m sure there are many people who would like to have a home in such a beautiful location but there are planning regulations. A house there would fetch £5 million easily.’

Ms Lukka told the Camden New Journal that she was very disappointed, adding: ‘The news is a big disappointment and beyond words.

‘This is my home and justice has not really been carried out. Now it’s time to move forward. I want to thank all the local people who have supported me.

‘I have received cards that read “it seems so terribly unfair after all your hard work to make a beautiful haven.” I want to send love and kisses to them.’

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