A grandmother who fought her way to the European courts to try and keep her home said council tax payers' money has been wasted on 19 years of legal wrangles.

Adele Stevens and her family were the first people to settle at Twin Oaks, a traveller site in Coggeshall Road, Stisted, after buying some land 22 years ago.

Braintree Council finally approved a retrospective application for 21 pitches - which could each house up to two caravans - last week.

Mrs Stevens, who is a council tax payer and has lost count of how much money she had spent on legal bills, said: "If they had just passed the planning permission when it was seven pitches in the beginning, they would have saved themselves and everyone else a lot of money, headaches and aggravation.

"It's been such a waste.

* Full story in this week's Times.