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A millionaire who illegally built ‘Britain’s best man cave’ has lost his latest court battle – despite claiming he had now sold it all to a Mexican for just £1.
Accountant Graham Wildin, 70, has said he’s had enough of the controversy after he served six weeks in jail for repeatedly refusing to knock down his extension.
He built the huge 10,000sq ft extension to the rear of his home in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in 2014 – without applying for planning permission.
The leisure complex comes fitted with its own bar, bowling alley, cinema and even a casino area.
Wildin was locked up last year for failing to comply with a court order to decommission the building.
Accountant Graham Wildin, 70, built the huge 10,000sq ft extension to the rear of his home in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in 2014
The leisure complex comes fitted with its own bar, bowling alley, cinema and even a casino area
And he lost his latest legal battle on Wednesday after three High Court judges said it was right to jail him for defying court orders
He was given 18 weeks from the date of his release from prison to comply with a previous court order to make the man cave unusable by ‘soft stripping’.
At the time, Mr Wildin said that demolishing the man cave would ruin him, costing an estimated £720,000.
At the Court of Appeal today, Wildin revealed he had sold the complex to a Mexican man for just £1 and produced land registry documents to prove he was no longer the legal owner.
He also claimed it had been mothballed and could not be accessed legally with most of the contents moved to other family members.
Despite his claims, the High Court ruled the ownership revelation should not have any bearing on the existing case as it happened after he was sentenced and jailed.
Wildin was ordered to pay £9,962 in costs and Forest of Dean District Council will now decide whether to pursue the matter further legally.
Wildin first sparked outrage amongst his neighbours when he was later found to have carried out the work without the required planning permission in 2014.
Mr Wildin was jailed after building ‘Britain’s largest man cave’ without planning permission and refusing to tear it down
Mr Wildin pictured lounging in the cinema room within the huge extension at the rear of his property
Mr Wildin, pictured in his casino, said it would cost him £720,000 to demolish the leisure complex entirely
A lengthy legal fight followed ending with a High Court judge handing down an injunction in 2018 and Wildin was initially given until the end of April 2020 to remove the 10,000sq/ft complex.
This ordered Wildin to tear down the sports centre as it had a serious impact on his neighbours.
But after failing to carry out the court’s orders, he was found in contempt of court.
Wildin had argued in the past that he did not need planning permission for the construction, and that having to pull down the luxury leisure complex would ruin him and force him to lay off 40 staff
Accountant Mr Wildin built the 10,000sq ft complex behind his home (pictured) in 2014 without permission
Removal vans were sighted near the 10,000sq ft site in Gloucestershire last month – with Mr Wildin now claiming he has sold it all to a Mexican for £1
He was warned at the time that failure to comply with the injunction would see him held in contempt of court, enabling him to be jailed and have assets seized.
Posting online, people were scathing about his refusal to knock it down.
One said: ‘How much is this man costing the taxpayer?’
Another said: ‘I blasted well hope so, arrogant little twerp!”
A third added: ‘Tick tock….knock, knock…it down.’
Some did jump to his defence, though, with one calling on residents to ‘leave him alone’.
DailyMail
