Councillors have blocked a developer's bid to build a family home in a garden amid fears a village is at "alarming risk" of losing all of its green spaces.

Bespoke Norfolk Group had hoped to construct the four-bed detached home in Dersingham, close to the royal estate at Sandringham.

The property, which went through several design changes turning from a flat-pitched roof to a gabled design, was proposed to be constructed in a garden space off Manor Road.

An aerial view of where the home would be built in DersinghamAn aerial view of where the home would be built in Dersingham (Image: Google)

However a number of villagers objected, worrying that granting approval for the application would set a "shocking precedent" for so-called garden grabbing, the sale of gardens for housing.

Councillor Judith Collingham, who represents the village, spoke out against the proposal at a planning committee meeting this week.

She said: "There is an alarming amount of green space being built on, soon we will be left with no breathing space."

Councillors agreed with Mrs Collingham's fears and voted to refuse the application on the grounds that the house was too large for the land, calling it "overbearing."