A British couple bought an entire French village for £22,000 after struggling to get onto the property ladder back home.
Paul Mappley and Yip Ward snapped up the hamlet of La Busliere, Normandy, which consists of six cottages, two barns and a paddock. It also boasts a two-storey workshop, a well, cider press and communal bread oven.
The pair, both landscape gardeners and 48, were living in a friend's caravan as they tried to buy a home of their own in the UK. After failing to get on the property market back home, they snapped up a village in France which they plan to turn into a luxury holiday site.
Paul and Yip featured on Channel 4 show Help, We Bought A Village! on Monday.
Yip said the prospect of paying the property prices in Kent, which start at £300,000 for somewhere "tiny" was "never on the table".
They have always rented and at the time were living in a static mobile home owned by a friend. But when they announced they were selling the caravan last year, the couple had to make a decision.
Yip said anyone thinking of doing something similar should "just go for it".
He told The Sun : "It was incredibly exciting when we heard from a friend about Le Busliere. We began to think: ‘This could really happen for us.'”
Paul said: “It has been stressful at times, and we are short of money, but coming from only ever renting, we are so grateful to be here.
“It was like a squat when we moved in, but we’re quite comfortable now."
He said that they both get on well with the neighbours in the next village.
Paul added that they did "whisper" about the new owners but joked "not because we're the only gays in the village - there are others living in theirs".
