The owner of a Grade II-listed building has been fined £50,000 for carrying out unauthorised work.

Mr Malwai Nijar removed timber sash windows at the front of Summerlands Lodge at 123 Canterbury Road, Westgate-on-Sea, without getting listed building consent.

An enforcement notice was initially served in 2015 and when negotiations to ensure the windows were fully reinstated failed, the council launched legal proceedings.

Summerlands Lodge was erected as a purpose-built preparatory school in 1906 and its original name was Doon House, according to Historic England.

The imposing building was occupied by RAF officers during the Second World War and given listed status in 2012.

It is a criminal offence to carry out any internal or external works to a listed building without first obtaining consent under the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

Mr Nijar was found guilty in his absence at Margate Magistrates’ Court on December 2 last year.

A further hearing was held on on June 6 where he was handed a fine of £40,000 for failing to comply with an enforcement notice, contrary to section 43 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

He also pleaded guilty to failure to surrender to the summary trial on December 2, contrary to section 6 of the Bail Act 1976 and was fined a further £2,500.

The defendant was also ordered to pay the council’s costs of £7,560 plus a £70 victim surcharge.

Following the guilty verdict, the listed building enforcement notice will remain in force until the work required is done.

Council officers will inspect the property again in August and if the work has still not been completed, Mr Nijar could be taken back to court and could receive a further fine.

The local authority said it takes a "strong approach" to anyone found to be carrying unauthorised works to a listed building.

"We advise anyone wanting to carry out works to a listed building to seek advice from our planning department," a statement from the council said.

In certain circumstances, a person found guilty of an offence can be sentenced to a prison term of up to six months, a fine, or both. The punishments are greater in case of conviction at the Crown Court.

According to Historic England, the building was occupied by officers from RAF Manston during the Second World War.

"After the war the school did not return to Westgate-on-Sea and in 1946 it was bought by the Royal British Legion as a nursing and convalescent home and renamed Maurice Lodge," it adds.

"Later it became the head office for a construction company and in the mid-1980s a nursing home called Summerlands Lodge."