'I can't believe this fuss over a gorilla': Homeowner faces £20k fine over 4ft gorilla statue outside home

A defiant home-owner faces a fine of up to £20k if she refuses to remove a four-foot-high gorilla statue mounted to the front of her house.

Adele Teale, 59, has been ordered to remove the 4kg resin figure from outside her two bedroom terraced home within four weeks or face legal action and a fine.

However the 'Gorilla-mad' householder has vowed not to remove the statue which which she erected in 2024 has become a popular feature with locals.

She could be slapped with a £20,000 maximum fine if imposed by the magistrates court or unlimited, if imposed by the crown court, if she does not take it down, according to Brentwood Borough Council.

The mum-of-one was first told to remove her "beloved" gorilla - which she calls Caesar - by Wakefield Council last September because he is "out-of-character with the surrounding area".

Adele appealed the decision and after a lengthy process council chiefs threw out her claim and have given her four weeks to get the ape gone or be fined.

Though she has since vowed to keep him, claiming he is "doing no harm to no one".

Adele said: "He is my best friend and I don't ever plan to move him. Everybody loves Caesar, he is part of the community".

"I just don't understand what the issue is. I can't believe all of this fuss over a gorilla.

"He is nothing more than a garden ornament, and I don't agree that he needs planning permission.

"He is secure up there - he has been screwed and glued in place.

"The council says it's 'structural' but he can be taken down - I could put a Christmas tree up there if I wanted.

"I love gorillas, I think they're amazing and Caesar makes me smile - he makes me happy."

Adele has told how Caesar sat outside her previous home in Belle Isle, Leeds, Yorks., for 15 years without an issue before she sold him when she moved to Stanley, Wakefield, Yorks., six years ago.

When she bought him back for £600 in August 2024 Adele re-errected Caesar securely to a wooden plinth between the two upstairs windows of her two bedroom terraced house four months later in December.

But on May 27 2025 Adele received a letter from Wakefield Council Planning Services regarding a complaint that an "animal structure" had been built on her property.

In the letter the council "advised" that she take down Caesar due to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, suggesting she may have required planning permission to have built him.

It also said for Adele to contact the council within seven days regarding the matter so they could evaluate if she needed to send a retrospective planning application.

The mum said she tried to reach the council over phone on a number of occasions but claims she "never heard back".

An enforcement notice was then handed to Adele on July 10 2025 ordering her to remove Caesar which she appealed a month later on August 11.

The notice said the statue is "not a minor decorative feature but is a prominent, eye-catching structure and is out of character with the surrounding area".

It goes on to claim it’s an "obtrusive feature on the residential street" and "fails to respect the character and appearance of the surrounding area".

It also claims that as a planning application has not been submitted an assessment to determine if the benefits outweigh the harm to the greenbelt could not be made.

Though the council say that Caesar has "caused harm to the greenbelt" and "has made a negative effect on the areas landscape".

Adele appealed the decision, but yesterday she received an email from the council saying they refused it and upheld the enforcement notice.

She now has to remove the statue by June 9, 2026 or she faces a fine.

Adele, who works for Leeds City Council's passenger travel, continually rejects the councils planning permission claim, saying he is just a "garden ornament".

Adele has also revealed she never had any complaints when she lived in Leeds.

The mum said: "It was on the outside wall of my house for years and there wasn't ever any problem.

Adele, who lives with husband Trevor and son, Billy, said even the binmen shout out to him.

Joe Jenkinson, Wakefield Council’s Service Director for Planning, Transportation and Strategic Highways, said: “We appreciate that not everyone will agree, but under planning rules this is not classed as a minor decorative feature.

"It’s also out of character with the surrounding area. So, it requires planning permission.

“The Planning Inspectorate is completely independent of the Council, and having looked at it impartially, have dismissed the owner’s appeal and upheld the enforcement notice.

"This means the gorilla statue will need to be removed within four weeks.”