{"id":33662,"date":"2026-05-11T11:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33662\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T11:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:47:08","slug":"millionaire-behind-uks-biggest-man-cave-in-fresh-prank-call-row-news-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33662\/","title":{"rendered":"Millionaire behind UK;s biggest man cave in fresh &#8216;prank call&#8217; row | News UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"485\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296628847-b0ae.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28319247\" alt=\"General view of properties owned by Graham Wildin. Mr Wildin built a giant man cave in the back garden of one of the properties which the council ordered him to demolish. Cinderford, Gloucestershire. April 29, 2026. \/\/ A millionaire who lost a ten-year battle save Britain's 'biggest man cave' has become embroiled in a fresh neighbour row - after accusing neighbours of bombarding him with prank calls in the middle of the night. Graham Wildin, 71, spent more than a decade fighting to preserve his illegal 10,000sq\/ft leisure complex - and has even served jail time over it. The row began in 2014 when he built the 'man cave' with a bowling alley, casino and a cinema at the back of his home - without planning permission. Forest of Dean District Council started pulling it down in June last year - and drone pictures this week show it now resembles a 'concrete car park.' The complex had sat behind his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire and had at one time included plush squash courts, soft play area and bowling alley. While local residents said they were delighted to finally see it gone - details of how deep the resentment is was revealed in fresh planning documents. Photo released 11\/05\/2026\" decoding=\"sync\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tGraham Wildin is now reportedly battling prank calls on a noise complaint line set up for his Airbnb (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n<p>A millionaire who lost a 10-year battle to save Britain\u2019s \u2018biggest man cave\u2019 has become embroiled in a fresh row after accusing neighbours of prank calling in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n<p>Graham Wildin, 73, has spent more than a decade fighting to preserve his 10,000sq\/ft leisure complex, but now he has another issue on his hands.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Wildin first made headlines after he built the elaborate \u2018man cave\u2019 at the back of his home \u2013 complete with a bowling alley, casino and a cinema \u2013 without the relevant planning permission back in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Forest of Dean District Council started pulling it down in June last year, with and drone pictures showing how it now resembles a \u2018concrete car park.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Residents in the area said they were delighted to finally see it gone \u2013 details of how deep the resentment had grown have now been revealed in fresh planning documents.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Start your day informed with Metro&#8217;s <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/newsletters\/news-updates\/?signup-source=news-article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/newsletters\/breaking-news?ito=news-article&amp;?signup_source=news-article-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<p>In an application to approve a noise management plan at the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/airbnb\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Airbnb<\/a> that he now operates on the site, Mr Wildin\u2019s representatives refused to publish a personal number for neighbours to report breaches because of reported \u2018prank calls\u2019 to the line.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The owners are not willing to provide personal mobile telephone numbers to neighbours due to previous issues with prank calls received at unreasonable hours, which are believed to have originated from some neighbours and which the police have been unwilling to pursue,\u2019 they said.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296628676-29cb.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28319271\" alt=\"General view of properties owned by Graham Wildin. Mr Wildin built a giant man cave in the back garden of one of the properties which the council ordered him to demolish. Cinderford, Gloucestershire. April 29, 2026. \/\/ A millionaire who lost a ten-year battle save Britain's 'biggest man cave' has become embroiled in a fresh neighbour row - after accusing neighbours of bombarding him with prank calls in the middle of the night. Graham Wildin, 71, spent more than a decade fighting to preserve his illegal 10,000sq\/ft leisure complex - and has even served jail time over it. The row began in 2014 when he built the 'man cave' with a bowling alley, casino and a cinema at the back of his home - without planning permission. Forest of Dean District Council started pulling it down in June last year - and drone pictures this week show it now resembles a 'concrete car park.' The complex had sat behind his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire and had at one time included plush squash courts, soft play area and bowling alley. While local residents said they were delighted to finally see it gone - details of how deep the resentment is was revealed in fresh planning documents. Photo released 11\/05\/2026\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tNeighbours say things have improved after the man-cave was knocked down (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n<p>In a bid to prevent further prank calls, the representatives said a noise monitoring system has been installed at the property to alert the owners if levels exceed agreed thresholds.<\/p>\n<p>Guests staying at the Airbnb are now banned from making \u2018excessive noise\u2019 between 11pm and 7am and from using the outdoor hot tub during these hours.<\/p>\n<p>Building work on the road backing onto the now-flattened man cave continued this week, and neighbours have said they are delighted to see it gone, claiming the situation has improved.<\/p>\n<p>One neighbour said, \u2018I don\u2019t know anything about any prank calls to him, but that probably shows just how much he upset people here.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He thought he could keep throwing money at it and get away with it. But there\u2019s nothing left now \u2013 so what did he really achieve?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"485\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296628843-e627.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28319257\" alt=\"General view of properties owned by Graham Wildin. Mr Wildin built a giant man cave in the back garden of one of the properties which the council ordered him to demolish. Cinderford, Gloucestershire. April 29, 2026. \/\/ A millionaire who lost a ten-year battle save Britain's 'biggest man cave' has become embroiled in a fresh neighbour row - after accusing neighbours of bombarding him with prank calls in the middle of the night. Graham Wildin, 71, spent more than a decade fighting to preserve his illegal 10,000sq\/ft leisure complex - and has even served jail time over it. The row began in 2014 when he built the 'man cave' with a bowling alley, casino and a cinema at the back of his home - without planning permission. Forest of Dean District Council started pulling it down in June last year - and drone pictures this week show it now resembles a 'concrete car park.' The complex had sat behind his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire and had at one time included plush squash courts, soft play area and bowling alley. While local residents said they were delighted to finally see it gone - details of how deep the resentment is was revealed in fresh planning documents. Photo released 11\/05\/2026\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\tHis leisure centre was torn down (Picture: SWNS)<\/p>\n<p>Forest of Dean District Council previously confirmed Mr Wildin would be asked to foot the bill for the demolition of the personal leisure centre.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute dates back to 2013, when Mr Wildin began to build the impressive structure in the back garden of one of two adjacent houses he then owned at Meendhurst Road.<\/p>\n<p>This prompted a member of the public to submit a complaint to the Forest of Dean District Council.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the construction began, council officers advised Mr Wildin that the building was not a \u2018permitted development\u2019 and required planning permission.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2018, following a series of warnings, the council obtained an injunction against Mr Wildin and he was given until April 25, 2020, to demolish the building.<\/p>\n<p>But in June 2022, he was found to be in contempt of court for non-compliance with the injunction.<\/p>\n<p>The judge sentenced him to six weeks\u2019 imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, on the condition that the building be permanently stripped and decommissioned within 18 weeks. Mr Wildin subsequently appealed the decision.<\/p>\n<p>The appeal was dismissed, and he was given until March 10, 2022, to comply with the Order to complete the required work. He again did not comply with the injunction and was sentenced to six weeks\u2019 imprisonment in August 2022.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2023, Mr Wildin appealed the prison sentence, which was also dismissed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/05\/11\/millionaire-behind-britains-biggest-man-cave-now-prank-call-row-neighbours-28321751\/mailto:webnews@metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\">webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">For more stories like this, <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\">check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/05\/06\/neighbours-return-uk-screens-just-months-final-episode-28256540\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Neighbours to return to UK screens again just months after final episode<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\">Arrow<br \/>\nMORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/26\/fire-breaks-raf-base-used-us-air-force-operations-iran-28121704\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fire breaks out at RAF base used by US Air Force for operations against Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tComment now<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tComments<br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tAdd as preferred source<br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tNews Updates<\/p>\n<p>Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Graham Wildin is now reportedly battling prank calls on a noise complaint line set up for his Airbnb&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7911,13,3017,15664,18,5],"class_list":{"0":"post-33662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"tag-airbnb","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-gloucestershire","11":"tag-neighbours","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116555785352983410","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}