Helen Mirren's Italian holiday home in council planning dispute

PA

Dame Helen Mirren's faces a planning row with her neighbour over her holiday home in southern Italy.

Anna De Giovanni has complained to the local council in the village of Tiggiano, near Lecce, demanding to see plans for the house and in particular the restoration of the wall that they share.

Although Mrs De Giovanni has already seen plans for the wall, she's accusing officials of failing to hand over documents for the rest of the house and an investigation has now been launched.

A spokesman for the council told The Telegraph: 'We are aware of the complaint but we are adamant that we have done nothing wrong and it is now up to the prosecutor to decide what happens next.'

Neither Mirren nor her husband has been accused of wrongdoing but they will need to be interviewed by the prosecutor.

The actress, 66, bought the abandoned farmhouse with her husband five years ago and has been renovating the 500-year-old property, turning it into an eco-friendly holiday home with solar panels for heating and hot water.

One of the walls, which was completely restored by the couple at a cost of £30,000, borders onto De Giovanni's property.

The couple's lawyer Piero Nucci said: 'My clients are not accused of any wrong doing but they have found themselves unwittingly drawn into this very petty argument which has now seen the prosecutor get involved.

'With regard to the wall this was restored at the complete expense of my clients even though it is a shared wall and Mrs De Giovanni did not contribute at all.

'It's a shame this has happened as they have always got on – in fact Helen would always give flowers to her neighbour.'

Sneak a peek at the holiday homes of the stars below...

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