SIR Rod Stewart’s plans to build a large swimming pool at his mansion to help turn his son into an Olympic champion have been threatened by great crested newts.

The rocker was granted permission earlier this year to build the pool for 11-year-old son Alastair, who has shown great promise as a swimmer and has already won a host of competitions.

But ecological surveys of the site in the gardens at Sir Rod’s Grade II-listed Durrington House in Harlow, Essex, have discovered the presence of newts.

The amphibians are a protected species under UK and European law and it is illegal to catch, possess or handle them without a licence or to cause them harm or disturb their habitat in any way.

The discovery of the newts has meant Sir Rod’s representatives have had to submit a detailed plan on how to construct the pool house without disturbing them and he must obtain a licence before work can begin.

He is proposing to create new habitats for the creatures elsewhere in the garden and erect “newt barrier fencing” to stop them entering the site.

In a report submitted to Epping Forest District Council, ecologist Simon Thomas said: “To allow for construction and landscaping to take place, the habitats within the working footprint will need to be cleared.”