Hollywood couple Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith have been ordered to surrender part of the land they own in Spain after losing a battle with local planning officials.

The actors own a $7.5 million beachfront property in La Gaviota, near Marbella, but they have been locked in a bitter fight with councilors who are cracking down on what they claim are illegal coastal properties. The Mask of Zorro star and Griffiths bought the villa in 1997 and have been using it as their summer home ever since.

However in 2003, the Latino was told his house was constructed illegally, because a building license granted in 2001 should never have been approved as it encroached on green land which planning bosses argue should be public property.

The stars have now been forced to hand over 14,000 square feet of land back to the government, wrecking the landscape of their garden and cutting close to their outdoor swimming pool.

A source says, "The swimming pool itself will go untouched, but the area being seized goes right up to the edge of the pool, which will ruin their enjoyment of it."

It's the latest in the couple's property fight with government officials - they are still battling an appeal against a 2008 court ruling ordering them to knock down one wing of their six-bedroom mansion.

- Click here for more Melanie Griffith pictures -

Image © PR Photos

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)