The children are heartbroken when dad ordered the £20,000 tree house he built for them to be destroyed

"What kind of evil drives good people to make these kinds of decisions?" John Alpeza asked after he was given a week to demolish the boat-shaped tree dwelling

A heartbroken John Alpeza has a week to demolish the £20,000 treehouse he built for his children (

Image: Radio-Canada)

Two children are heartbroken when the £20,000 tree house their beloved father built for them has to be demolished.

John Alpeza built his kids the boat-shaped treehouse to give them their own space where they can play and have fun, using their imaginations instead of playing video games.

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He has spent £20,000 on the outbuilding which has windows, swing ropes, a hammock, four separate entrances and a dining area, all with enough space for his children - aged eight and ten years - and their friends.

However, the boat was built without permission, which he admits, and now he has been ordered by the City of Toronto to tear it down because it violates zoning regulations.

The tree house boat was built to bring her children to the great outdoors (

Picture:

John Alpeza/Facebook)

The treehouse is in his back yard overlooking his fence, but after filing paperwork last fall, he got a phone call from the city last week.

He was told that he had been rejected by three separate city departments and that if he did not remove him, he would be charged and a court order would be used to remove him.

However, the father has sworn to keep fighting and not to shoot him.

Speaking to Canada, he said: "It's good to give children their own space, to let them create their own little world. Imagination is so important. They can use it to. ..