A millionaire ordered to pull down 'Britain's best man cave' has been accused of going to war with neighbours - by moving his classic car collection onto the street to create ''parking chaos''. The move follows a court ruling ordering the structure to be demolished.
Accountant Graham Wildin, 69, has faced a lengthy legal battle over his 10,000sq ft leisure complex at the back of his home. He has been told the complex with a cinema, squash court and a bowling alley is illegal and he must destroy it.
The final deadline for the building to be pulled down was on March 10 before Wildin faces jail - but there was no sign of it being pulled down. Now neighbours in Cinderford in the Forest of Dean say the accountant is using his classic car collection as the latest weapon in his battle, reports Gloucestershire Live.
They say he is moving the motors from a large garage at the side of his property and onto their residential street - and even across their driveways. Neighbours say the classic cars, including Bentleys, are being parked in the road causing significant trouble.
They say the cars take up too many spaces and make it difficult for them to use their own drives. Several neighbours say they have complained but fear nothing can be done because he is not doing anything illegal. Some vehicles have notices attached that give the registration number and a message saying they are taxed, insured and monitored by CCTV.
Resident Chris Briginshawe has lived diagonally opposite the accountant for 15 years. He says he deliberately stayed out of the row over the long-running planning saga until a few weeks ago when an elderly neighbour returned from church to find one of Mr Wildin's cars parked across her driveway.
He said he complained but the car wasn't removed for days. About a week later his wife woke up to find a classic vehicle had been parked across their driveway in the middle of the night.
"The difference was that while my neighbour's drive was empty, my wife's car was on our drive so it was illegal and I could call the police," said Chris, who said his elderly neighbour had been upset and intimidated by the dispute.
"My wife was unable to go to work but when the police called him he said he was too busy to move it. The officer said he would call a tow truck because it was parked illegally. Initially, he said it didn't matter because he could afford to pay the fee but he turned up about 10 minutes before the recovery vehicle and moved the car a short distance.
"It's still in the way. My wife can just about manoeuvre in and out the driveway but I can't get my 4X4 pickup in so I have to park it on the road and take up more space. People are getting very upset about it all."
Neighbours say they have tried to talk to Mr Wildin but he simply tells them he is within his rights to park as many vehicles as he likes on the road as long as they are taxed and insured and he plans to leave them there for 10 years.
"I told him he was being unreasonable and anti-social but apparently that's not a problem because he has lived here longer than anyone else so he can do what he wants," said Mr Briginshawe.
Mr Wildin faces a £300,000 tax bill after HMRC refused to believe his claim the man cave was for 'holidaymakers' and therefore the work was tax-deductible. Local people took to Facebook to comment on the ongoing battle.
Gloucestershire Live has attempted to contact Mr Wildin for comment.
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