A B.C. couple accused of trespassing on their own driveway say they're caught in the middle of a red-tape nightmare between Metro Vancouver and the province.

The private driveway leading to the new dream home of Juve and Margie Naing in Belcarra, east of Vancouver, has been used by past owners for half a century, but officials have suddenly announced that several feet at the entrance of their driveway is on park land -- and therefore now off limits.

Metro Vancouver lawyers sent a letter to the Naings last fall, ordering them to: "Immediately cease using the portion of the driveway that encroaches...onto park lands."

It also instructed the homeowners to: "permanently remove that portion of the driveway," warning that continuing to use it would "constitute a trespass."

"Their access is limited. They're not allowed to cross this point any further. That's according to the law. Legally they're not supposed to cross it," said the couple's contractor, Ken Kelleway of Top to Bottom Contracting.

The very bottom triangle of driveway leading to the main road is actually Crown land, which belongs to Belcarra Regional Park.

"As far as we can tell this driveway was constructed in the 60's and the previous owners -- including the GVRD -- has used this driveway in this configuration so we just never thought it could be a problem," Juve Naing told CTV's Steele on Your Side.

The park was formed in 1988 -- nearly three decades after the driveway was first built.

The jurisdiction knew about the driveway encroachment when it owned the property back in the 1980's, but allowed previous tenants to use it anyway.

Gaetan Royer, manager of metropolitan planning, environment and parks for Metro Vancouver, insists the authority isn't playing hard ball.

"We feel really sorry for the fact that this couple is in this unfortunate position, but we're not preventing access to the property. We're not preventing occupancy," he said.

After speaking to CTV News, Royer said he didn't even know about that letter telling the homeowners they were trespassing.

When Steele on Your Side asked whether he would stand by his promise not to stop the couple from using the driveway in the future, Royer said "he couldn't commit to that."

The mayor of the Village of Belcarra, Ralph Drew, wants Metro Vancouver to give the Naings a break.

"My opinion is that the GVRD has a moral responsibility here to acknowledge the history -- some of the common law rights of pass and re-pass -- and to work with the Naings and the province to come to a proper and amicable solution,"

Meanwhile, the young couple is desperate for a resolution.

"We build this for our family and I guess it could come to the fact that we might have to walk away," Margie Naing said.

Metro Vancouver says the province has to sign off on a deal with the Naings to allow use of the driveway and the Village of Belcarra has to make the request.

In the meantime, the Naings can't use their driveway and can't move into their new home.

The Naings looked into building another driveway that wouldn't encroach on park land, but it would have to be an extreme switchback through bedrock that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build.

On Thursday, Steele on Your Side learned that the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations sent a letter to Royer at Metro Vancouver, saying the province had no reason for the home owners not to use the contested part of their driveway.

Watch CTV News tonight for the full report from Lynda Steele, and see just what a small section of driveway is being called illegal…