FRED Dibnah's dreams were in tatters today after Bolton Council planners rejected his bid to create his own working Victorian mine.

Celebrity steeplejack Fred, who is fighting cancer, wants the mine to be a monument to his life.

He has already begun work on the project to drill a 70ft mineshaft in the back garden of his home and a 90ft tunnel to the banks of the River Tonge.

And today Fred, aged 65, who has already dug 20ft of the shaft, vowed to appeal against the planning refusal. If he is unsuccessful, he will have to fill in the mineshaft at his home in Radcliffe Road, The Haulgh.

But he said: "I'm not going to just give up and fill it in after all my hard work."

The shock decision yesterday came as the planning committee snubbed the advice of planning officers, who believed the mine would not have a detrimental impact on the residential area.

Around two-thirds of the 20-member committee voted against the plans after hearing of residents' fears that they would be swamped with visitors.

But Fred has refused to give up on his labour of love and has already begun working on an appeal.

After the meeting, he said: "I wanted to create something which will be here when I am long gone - that was the whole idea. There is nothing like this in Bolton and it would keep our wonderful mining heritage alive. But I will not allow myself to get annoyed because I know I am going to win.

"It is simply unfair. I have had the Environment Agency here as well as Bolton Council's environment department to inspect the site and everyone supported me.

"I thought they would say yes. There were originally 24 mine shafts within half-a-mile of this house, and now there are none. It's heritage that needs remembering.

"I have hundreds of signatures in support, and there were only 20 objections. Where is the justice in that? Where is the majority argument?

"The neighbours are saying I never finish anything, but neither did Brunel. But my mineshaft will still be here in 200 years - long after they have perished."

Douglas Summers, who has lived opposite Fred for 15 years in Castle Street, denied neighbours were being "killjoys".

He accused the planning committee of over-indulging Fred in the past and allowing him to turn his garden into a scrapyard.

"This sort of industrial theme park is fine but it is not fair to place it in a residential area," he said.

"If it had been anyone else, these plans would have been thrown out straight away," he said.

Fred will have three months to lodge an appeal with the planning inspectorate.

Most appeals are dealt with by written submission, although planning inspectors could opt to hold a public hearing to decide the matter.

However, his chances of success are much reduced with only three per cent of appeals being upheld.

Although there is no cost, appeals can be an expensive matter with parties often choosing to pay for legal representation and the losing side expected to pay the costs.

Around 20 residents have written to the committee objecting to his plans for the backyard of Fred's Grade II listed home.

At the meeting, Cllr Bill Collison, Liberal Democrat councillor for Kearsley, backed the application.

"Everything is being professionally done and the noise made by the steam engine is no more than that made by a diesel car," he said.

Westhoughton councillor David Wilkinson claimed all the concerns over the project had been addressed.

But Cllr Bob Howarth, the council leader, told the committee he could not back the application.

"This is a step too far and, much as I am interested in machinery from this period, it is not suitable for this type of location," he said.

Cllr Prentice Howarth, who represents the Burden ward, said: "For 19 years we have had problems with smoke and various other issues from Fred's garden."

She challenged committee members to ask themselves whether they would want a 70ft mine dug in their neighbour's garden.

"I believe the answer is no," she said.