THE owner of a Museum of Science Fiction in Allendale has launched a campaign to 'Save Our Dalek', after Northumberland County Council issued him with a notice ordering him to remove a shed from his drive, which houses a full-size replica of Doctor Who's arch enemy.

The council has taken action against owner of the museum Neil Cole, after it received a complaint from a local parish councillor about the shed, which was built without planning permission in a conservation area outside Neil's Grade II listed townhouse.

Neil, who has been told to remove the Dalek by February 5, said: "In only a few months, the museum has brought great revenue to the village, with over 900 visitors already and guests travelling from over seas just to visit the attraction. It adds a bit of magic into the area, and it would be a giant loss to the town to see that taken away.

"A small minority of the parish council have always opposed the museum, and this complaint is the latest in a string of attempts to get the attraction closed, or dampen its popularity.

"The shed was purpose-built to remain inoffensive and discreet, and not distract from the character of the historic house and village.

"Removing the shed for the Dalek will severely impact my fledgling business."

A spokeswoman for Northumberland County Council said: "This construction outside a listed property in Allendale has been brought to our attention and we are in the early stages of investigating it.

"We wish to work with the property owner to resolve this, and we have written to him to advise that this would require planning permission and due to the listed status of the property an application is unlikely to be supported."