Residents whose lives are being made miserable by shady developers who make additions to properties in an unsafe way are being urged to contact a city MP.

Steve McCabe, Labour MP for Selly Oak, is trying to bring forward a new law to tackle cowboy builders and people who break planning rules.

He is now keen to hear about examples of bad practice from people across Birmingham.

He has drawn up a Ten Minute Rule Bill which will go before Parliament after being inundated with complaints about the increase in student housing around the University of Birmingham which has seen modest family homes hugely extended to cram in more students.

A recent high-profile case involved Gerard and Christine White from Moseley (see gallery below) who found the planning authorities unwilling or unable to act when their neighbour extended his house so far that their rooftops shared a gutter - virtually converting the retired couple's detached house into a terrace.

Mr McCabe said: "I'm asking for all people who have been affected by unauthorised developments to get in touch with me.

"I intend to make sure that local people's concerns are properly represented in The Protection of Family Homes Bill to tackle the growing problem of rogue landlords and cowboy builders who ride roughshod over our communities."

He added that unscrupulous developers were buying up family homes in droves and tacking on unsightly extensions to cram as many students in as possible to maximise profits.

"Many of these extensions do not have planning permission and there are no proper checks to ensure the houses are safe to live in," he added.

The MP will put the bill before Parliament and if it receives enough support from MPs it could be developed into a new law next year.