Dreams gone up in smoke: French councilor who mounted 700,000 matches in the 7-metre Eiffel Tower for eight years has a Guinness World Record entry rejected… due to using the wrong type of matches

A Frenchman who spent eight years building a 6-metre high replica of the Eiffel Tower using matchsticks has seen his dreams go up in smoke – because he used a brand that is not available in stores.

Richard Plaud claims he found out his dreams had come true when Guinness World Records issued their verdict without even visiting the replica.

And the ruling organization says the 706,900 sticks the 47-year-old used were not commercially available and had been changed beyond recognition from their original form – meaning they could not withstand his attempt.

Councilman Plaud railed against the decision and was shocked that his patriotic project had met its match against the record-breaking bureaucracy.

“It's disappointing, frustrating, incomprehensible and not very fair,” he told The Times.

And the ruling organization says the 706,900 sticks the 47-year-old used were not commercially available and had been changed beyond recognition from their original form – meaning they could not withstand his attempt.

Councilor Plaud railed against the decision and was shocked that his patriotic project had gone up against record-breaking bureaucracy

Mr. Plaud made 402 panels from the matches, which he then built into the enormous structure

He had hoped that Guinness would take pity on him, but he was left devastated when they refused. “It's part of the dream that got away,” he told the magazine.

In a furious post on social media, he added: 'Tell me how 706,900 sticks stuck one by one are not a match.

'My match tower still stands and will be 7.19 meters tall for a long time to come.'

Mr Plaud, who works in the engineering and bridge department of the Charent-Maritime department council in southwestern France, finally completed his project on December 27, the 100th anniversary of the death of the tower's original engineer.

He made 402 panels from the matches, which he then built into the enormous structure.

The astonishing tower is said to have eclipsed the current record for the tallest matchstick sculpture ever, held by Lebanese craftsman Toufic Daher, who created a 6.53-meter model of the Eiffel Tower in 2009.

Mr Plaud, who has loved making models since he was eight, originally bought matches from supermarkets to build the structure.

But his painstaking plans to win the Guinness World Record fell apart when he decided the process was too 'fussy' – and instead convinced French matchmaker Flam'Up to supply him with huge boxes filled with 190,000 headless matches.

Mr Plaud, who works in the engineering and bridge department of the Charent-Maritime department council in south-west France, finally completed his project on December 27, the 100th anniversary of the death of the tower's original engineer (pictured).

Mr Plaud, who has loved making models since he was eight, originally bought matches from supermarkets to build the structure

But his painstaking plans to win the Guinness World Record fell apart when he decided the process was too 'demanding'.

The model maker, who also cut off the heads of the matches before receiving them in bulk, was told that the heads had to be scratched off for his attempt to be valid.

He encountered technical problems along the way Le Parisien that he had to make a number of 'fairly complex calculations' to ensure that the legs of the tower would support the weight.

He estimated that he had put 4,200 hours of his time into the project since it started in December 2015.

Speaking to a local television station before his record attempt, Mr Plaud's wife, Sandra, spoke of her hope that he would finally be successful after more than two decades of dreaming.

“That way I can get my living room back,” she laughed.