A COUPLE who say their dream retirement home has turned into a nightmare have refused to move in for fear of being victimised.

Harry and Pauline Hair, who live in Wensley, bought a house in Thornton Steward, near Ripon, in January.

They planned to renovate and rent it out until they retired, before moving in themselves, but they say letters of objection from villagers to their planning requests have made them feel so unwelcome they dare not move in.

In a letter submitted to Richmondshire District Council, one resident, said that whoever came to live in the property, known as The Old School House, would be resented and "not accepted in the village."

Mr Hair, 60, said he had withdrawn his application to build a garage and extension on the property.

"Without an off-street garage for the car, I would not live there," he said.

"We make our living through property, but we have never seen anything like this before. It's sheer nastiness, and it has made my wife quite frightened."

He added: "We've spent thousands on it already because we wanted it perfect for when we eventually moved in, but now we'll just continue to rent it out. It's a real shame to think we will never live there."

Natalie Snowball, planning officer at Richmondshire District Council, said the Hairs' planning requests would probably not have been granted.

"Thornton Steward is a very quiet, picturesque village in a conservation area, and there are lots of historic buildings," she said.

"We had lots of letters of objection, and I would have recommended the alterations be refused. Although The Old School House is not a listed building it is a historic one, and we felt the plans would detract from its unique character."

Mrs Hair added: "I'm not the sort of woman who is easily frightened, but I have had some sleepless nights over this. It looks like will just have to find somewhere else to retire."