The son of former US presidential candidate Ross Perot has been rapped by planning authorities for creating a sand dune on a beach at his luxury Tucker's Town house without planning permission.

Ross Perot Jr. apologised to the Planning Department for bulldozing sand to create the dune at Windsor Beach without approval, but said it was done with good intentions to protect the environment.

His father attracted international headlines in 1992 when it was revealed a live coral reef at his Tucker's Town mansion had been dynamited without permission so his yacht could be moored nearer the house after he was refused permission to dredge that part of Castle Harbour.

The Bermuda government determined the Texan billionaire did not know about the blasting in 1986, nor had he authorised it.

But Time magazine quoted one of Mr. Perot senior's sub-contractors saying Mr. Perot put on snorkelling gear and watched the drilling, then observed the blasting from the shore.

The maverick candidate pulled out of the 1992 presidential election following a spate of bad publicity.

Mr. Perot Jr., whose house Caliban is next to his father's on Tucker's Town Road, was this month granted retro-active approval for the sand dune on Windsor Beach.

But the Development Applications Board (DAB) noted: "The Board wishes to express concern that the applicant has shown disregard for the planning process in that development was commenced prior to planning approval.

"The Board wishes to advise the applicant that any future applications to restore dunes on Windsor Beach will be denied on the advice of the Department of Conservation Services. Any further restoration will require the applicant to remedy the work at his own cost."According to the planning file, work on the dune stopped on November 22 when Mr. Perot received a letter from the Planning Department.

In a letter to the DAB, Mr. Perot's architects Conyers and Associates wrote: "We accept that our client should not have taken action without consent, however, our client's intentions were good and were carried out purely for environmental reasons.

"By removing seaweed, debris and the sand ledge that had been created by recent weather activity, our client was expecting a natural sand dune allowing a natural wave action on the beach; the development of the sand dune; (and that) the sand dune furthermore protects the rocky foreshore from further erosion.

"Our client regrets the lack of consultation with your department, however, please be assured that in the future any works of this nature are to be carried out with prior consultation with the relevant authorities."

Marine Conservation officer Sarah Manuel noted the sand had already been bulldozed into a dune when she saw the site.

She recommended the sand remain where it was because "if we asked Mr. Perot to put it back to where it was, it would quickly be washed away by wave action and such a large quantity of sand could damage the nearby reef through siltation.

"Any beach vegetation that is planted on the dune is not likely to grow fast enough to combat Mother Nature, which will reduce the dune."