Heartbroken families, whose historic holiday homes on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula were illegally flattened without warning, have finally had their day in court.

George Lavrentiadis faced court in Adelaide on Tuesday, after previously pleading guilty in May to destroying two historic coastal shacks that were built in Deep Creek back in 1934.

WATCH ABOVE: Man who pleaded guilty to illegally demolishing family shack apologises

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The shacks stood on the Fleurieu Peninsula’s Heysen Trail, on Crown land in the Deep Creek National Park.

The homes had been maintained by the same South Australian family, the Robertsons, for nearly 60 years.

A neighbouring shack, which was owned by a syndicate of eight people was also partially destroyed the same day the Robertson family shack was levelled.

Lavrentiadis told the court Julian Johnston, a multi-millionaire realtor who lives in Miami in the US, paid him to clear the land for a better view.

He told the court he was paid $5000 to clear the view for Johnston’s new home.

Lavrentiadis told the court that Johnston spoke convincingly and with great authority, but admitted that he should have checked if what he was doing was against the law.

At sentencing submissions on Tuesday, Lavrentiadis heard from the owner of the shack, Barry Robertson.

“It was much more than a shack. it was my castle,” he told the court.

Shelly Pomtiac, another shack owner, told the court the shacks were destroyed because Johnston didn’t like the look of them.

“The shacks had to go because he didn’t like the look of them, they were on Crown land not his,” she said in court.

Johnston, who owns an adjacent $900,000 block and had plans to build a $2 million home, has denied any involvement and has not been charged.

Lavrentiadis apologised to the court on Tuesday for demolishing the shacks.

The shack owners said to rebuild to current standards would cost significantly more and to rebuild what they had lost with their family’s history was irreplacable.

Lavrentiadis now faces up to 10 years in prison, with sentencing expected by the end of June.