The owners of garages beneath a Putney apartment block have been told to stop renting them out commercially.

Wandsworth Council has won a planning inspector decision against the owners of the Sylva Court garages, who had been renting out all but one of the 24 parking spaces for between £1,800 and £2,400 a year.

The council says the commercial activity began in 2004 following refurbishment of the garage.

Following complaints by residents of Sylva Court and Ross Court - which shares the access road - the council took enforcement action to return the area to its previous use as parking for residents.

Government planning inspector Colin Johnson upheld the council's intervention.

He ruled last week that the original planning permission was for a car park that was "an integral part of a sizeable residential development".

He added that the commercial activity had introduced an enterprise "into the confines of an established residential enclave" with which it had no connection.

Wandsworth planning chairman Leslie McDonnell said: "The inspector's decision is good news for residents of both Sylva Court and Ross Court who had genuine security concerns about strangers coming into their grounds.

"If you live in a block with underground parking it is reasonable to expect that those spaces are there for the residents.

"In this case the whole area had been turned into a commercial operation with rents to match."

The inspector gave the existing garage users four months to remove their vehicles.