Surgeon Brian Newman angered residents, councillors and environmentalists when he demolished the 30ft sandhill from land he owns opposite his North Promenade home.

The controversial move sparked an emergency meeting between representatives from the Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency and Fylde Council. Fylde MP Michael Jack raised the issue in the House of Commons.

Fylde Council has now decided that Mr Newman should have obtained planning permission before carrying out the wor, because of the large volume of sand involved.

Unless he is successful in securing retrospective planning permission, Mr Newman will be forced to put the sune back in its original place - and if he fails to comply, he may face legal action.

Fylde Borough Council's Head of Development Control, Mark Evans, said: "Due to the amount of sand that has been moved, planning permission ought to have been obtained prior to the carrying out of the works to flatten the dune.

"Whilst the Council cannot predetermine any retrospective planning application that may be submitted in the future, the works are contrary to a number of local and national planning policies that recognise the value of dunes and seek to preserve this important habitat.

"Although the Council could commence formal enforcement action as a result of the unauthorised works, it will be looking to work with Mr Newman to reinstate the sand dune to its previous form."

In the past week, Mr Newman has started to rebuild a smaller dune, anchored by Christmas tree offcuts around the base, some 20 feet further away on the foreshore from his home.

He maintains the work carried out conforms with the Fylde Sand Dunes Project, which aims to conserve the plants and wildlife between Starr Gate and Lytham.

Neighbours Derek Eastwood and Rita Spirling had also expressed interest in removing dunes, to create good views of the sea.

But Mr Evans warned they faced prosecution if they took action into their own hands.

"Any other residents in the area who are considering similar works should be aware of the need to obtain planning permission, the importance of preserving this threatened habitat and the implications for the long term future of the dunes."

A letter has been sent to Mr Newman and his neighbours to warn them of the council's position.

Mr Jack was pleased with the decision but warned action would be taken to prevent further damage.

"I am pleased the council has taken appropriate action to deal with the matter in the short term.

"However the reason I brought this up in Parliament is because clearly this raises some longer term issues which need to be resolved.

"That is why I asked Hilary Benn, Defra and Natural England to look at all aspects of this and come up with a way that in future people cant remove part of the sand dunes."

Anne Heslop, Lancashire Wildlife Trust's Fylde Sand Dunes Officer, said: "All partners have been working together to protect and enhance the dunes for the benefit of wildlife and the local community.

"A Management Action Plan has been created to highlight what steps need to be taken to do this and it is important that we work alongside nature to ensure a healthy environment for the future.

"We've lost over 85% of our sand dunes over the past 100 years and it is important that we preserve what we have left for both its unique wildlife and important sea defence properties.

"If all residents were to do a similar thing then a large part of our natural dunes would be damaged."