CAMPAIGNERS are stunned after being threatened with legal action if they don’t remove protest banners from their own homes.

The Save Our St Osyth campaign is fighting plans to build more than 300 houses in the village.

About a dozen SOS members have now received warning letters from Tendring Council, telling them to take down the protest banners or risk facing prosecution.

The letter urges residents to remove the signs or apply for council permission to keep them.

It says: “You do need to be aware that displaying the sign without consent is an offence and the committee could, if it wished, seek to prosecute you.

“I do need to warn you of this, therefore, as the consequences of displaying the sign could be serious for you.”

The Sargeant family, who own St Osyth Priory, want special permission to build more than 300 homes in the village to help pay for millions of pounds of repairs to the historic buildings.

However, objectors claim it would ruin the village.

One campaigner, who asked not to be named, said their banner had been up for several months.

She added: “I don’t see the difference between the posters and those put up when general elections come around. If someone wanted to complain, they could have knocked on my door.

“I don’t think it’s offensive – we just want to save our village.”

Her husband added: “Heavy-handed is probably an understatement. This is a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

Council planning boss Carlo Guglielmi said a points system was used to decide if permission was needed for placards or banners.

He added: “Because St Osyth is a conservation area, and most of the signs are on listed buildings, they do require consent.

“We wrote to inform them what they are doing is a breach of planning, so they should put it right.”

Mr Guglielmi explained the protesters could apply for permission to keep the banners in place.

He said: “We would do exactly the same in any conservation area anywhere else in the district.

“I just hope the problem is solved in an amicable way.”