Ex-soldier hits out as charity grotto shut by council

AN army veteran says he feels “gutted” after council chiefs ordered him to shut down his Christmas charity grotto.

Robert Russell was told he could not run the grotto from his Inverness council house because it breaches tenancy rules.

The 53-year-old built the attraction, featuring a life-size Santa and lights, to bring some Christmas cheer to the area and raise money for people suffering from cancer.

Mr Russell, who has suffered from lung cancer, has raised more than £200 for Maggie’s Cancer Centre since opening the grotto at the start of the month.

Children have enjoyed visiting the attraction, which took him more than two months to build.

He said: “I’m not so much angry as gutted. You try and do something nice and this happens. Locals were right behind it.”

Highland Council chiefs came to visit his house this week to tell him to shut the grotto down.

They also sent out electricians to check the lights had not affected the electricity supply to homes on the street.

He shut the grotto at 6.30pm each night to not disturbneighboursandmade sure all children were accompanied by an adult.

But the council would not back down and sent him a letter informing him he would need council permission to run the grotto again in future.

A council spokeswoman said tenancy rules stated an individual cannot run a business from their home without permission or cause a nuisance or harassment to neighbours.

She said: “All tenants are provided with, and agree to, a tenancy agreement before accepting their home.”