A father in Cheltenham has been ordered by his local parish council to demolish a treehouse he built with his autistic nine-year-old son, which the pair describe as their "special safe place". Pete Phipps, 51, an artist and sign writer from Leckhampton, Gloucestershire, constructed the structure with his son Cooper to encourage the boy, who has autism and severe anxiety, to leave the house, and the two have visited it almost daily since starting the project last year. The case has drawn attention as an example of officialdom overriding what the family and many locals see as a positive, therapeutic project.

Leckhampton with Warden Hill Parish Council says the treehouse cannot remain because it sits on public land shared with Cheltenham Borough Council, meaning it would need to be covered by public liability insurance. The pair built the structure around a large tree that had fallen in Burrow's Field, which they discovered while out walking last year. Mr Phipps described it as a "sculptural and magical piece" rather than something thrown together, and said the majority of local people love it and are angry and upset that it is being brought down.