SUFFOLK mother Janice Daines faces a two-month deadline to repaint her lilac home in an attempt to end a bitter two-year dispute over the shade which shocked councillors.

SUFFOLK mother Janice Daines faces a two-month deadline to repaint her lilac home in an attempt to end a bitter two-year dispute over the shade which shocked councillors.

The defiant woman has been locked in a battle with council chiefs after she painted her Grade II listed cottage without permission.

Council planners said the provocative palette of lilac was unsuitable on Mrs Daines' 17th Century home.

She took her case to appeal after the authority refused to give her Listed Building Consent, with councillors likening the colour to "Teletubby land" and "pantomime scenery".

But in November the planning inspector ruled against Mrs Daines, saying: "The new colour does harm the appearance of the conservation area and detracts from the architectural quality of a listed building."

St Edmundsbury Council will now serve the enforcement notice by the end of January and Mrs Daines will have two months in which to comply with the order or consider another appeal.

If the order is upheld and Mrs Daines still refuses to repaint the property in Callis Street, Claire, she could face legal action or the council could repaint the house and charge her for the cost.

She still has the option of taking her case to the High Court, and despite the threat of the enforcement notice Mrs Daines is refusing to throw in the towel. She once vowed she would rather go to prison than change the colour of her home and she still says she wants the lilac shade to stay.

"I am not exactly sure what I am going to do, I want to wait until I get the enforcement notice before making my decision. I still want to keep my home lilac and I don't think I will give up yet."

The authority says the property must be painted in a colour derived from a natural pigment, such as white, off-white, dark yellow or dark red.