ITseemed to be the Christmas present that everyone loved, including most of the neighbours.

But two children have been left heartbroken after council planning officers called for their Wendy house to be demolished following a complaint.

The protest by a single resident has provoked such strength of feeling among other neighbours that 50 have lodged their support for the Miller family, who built the wooden playhouse in the back garden for their two children for Christmas.

Brian Miller, 36, a property developer, said the Wendy house took six weeks to complete, and his son Noah, four, and three-year-old daughter Naomi, had been delighted.

Councillors will now decide whether to accept the planning recommendation that the structure at the family home in Bellevue Crescent, Broughton, Edinburgh, is demolished because of its "detrimental contribution to the character and appearance of the area".

Mr Miller, who lives in the [pounds]1m, three-storey townhouse with his wife Jessica, 35, said his children were heartbroken that their playhouse might be pulled down, and added that he was astonished that anyone would make such a complaint.

The Wendy house sits in the back garden of the family's Alisted Georgian home, with decking on either side and a small rope bridge.

Mr Miller has put together a 50-name petition from neighbours opposing any move to tear down the structure, and is calling for councillors to make a site visit before taking their decision. He said yesterday: "It really baffles me. The sole intention behind this work was to provide a play area for our children and their pals.

"It replaced an unusable area of raised ground which was bounded by an ugly brick wall. The decked area extends from the garage and the boundary wall at the same height as the raised area it covers. No extra height has been gained.

"As for the playhouse not being in keeping with a conservation area, the area to the rear of our street is a patchwork of multicoloured garages, private and shared gardens, lanes turning areas and common ground.

I believe our play area not only fits into this pattern, but actually improves it. It replaces an unsightly area of dead space and I could have simply filled it with garish coloured stones and gnomes."

Mr Miller said he was stunned when a neighbour complained.

He said he knocked on all the doors in the street to find out who it was, but no-one came forward as the complainer.

He claims every person he spoke to said they liked the play area and they agreed to sign his petition.

Samantha Cohen, 22, a neighbour, said yesterday, : "It looks superb and I fully support Mr Miller in his fight. I really can't see what all the fuss is about."

Another neighbour said:

"There are hundreds of ugly garages in this area and this beautiful playhouse should be welcomed, not condemned."

An elderly resident, who also asked not to be named, said:

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Who would complain about a child's Wendy house?"

As a result of the complaint, the family had to lodge a retrospective planning application, which was recommended for refusal.

Alan Henderson, Edinburgh City Council chief planning officer, said: "In terms of materials and scale, the deck and play areas are visually obtrusive elements in the garden and are not characteristic features in a conservation area.

"The deck is raised to a height to allow overlooking to occur over the rear lane and also the neighbour to the west.

"It is recommended that the committee refuses this application for reasons relating to the character and appearance of the conservation area and the setting of the listed building and takes enforcement action."

Mr Miller said the playhouse, made of Scandinavian pine, was finished only days before last Christmas.

If, as expected, he is ordered to demolish the house, he will be given three months to take it down or the council will demolish it.

He said: "All the neighbours seem to be all for it. They say it's an improvement to the area. It was a Christmas present for our children and they love it.

"I don't think they fully understand what's happening.

They just don't believe their present will be taken away.

"I just can't understand it.

We thought we were giving them something so they would play outdoors and make use of the garden.

"We offered to plant trees and make it more sympathetic, but the planner just wouldn't listen."

A similar case last year ended with the council ordering a structure to being taken down.

An architect lost a long-running feud with a Edinburgh City Council over a [pounds]260 garden shed.

Moray Royles, director of CiAO architects, put the shed outside his tenement flat in the Marchmont area of Edinburgh after redeveloping the garden.

The council ordered him to get rid of the wooden 7ft by 5ft structure, which officials said was prominent and obtrusive and broke strict rules covering the local conservation area.

Others, though, have had better fortune. No challenges were made over the [pounds]120,000 two-storey "Wendy castle" Victoria and David Beckham built for their sons Brooklyn, five, and two-year-old Romeo in the grounds of their [pounds]2.5m Hertfordshire home dubbed Beckingham Palace.

The 30-square metre castle consists of a central tower which is connected to the other towers by rope bridges and wooden walkways, with safety netting underneath.

There are rope swings and ladders, a slide and even a drawbridge to complete the castle theme but no moat.