Tuffers put to the test over home boundary

PHIL Tufnell, the enfant terrible of english cricket, has been left stumped by planners after they ruled a third extension to his Surrey home was too close to the boundary with his neighbours.

The former spin king, 57, who has already been given permission for a first-floor extension to the fourbedroom home he shares with his wife Dawn, 55, in leafy Tadworth, Surrey, pitched proposals for a bigger kitchen plus en-suite bedroom and dressing room.

But local council officials declared the rear extension failed their test — despite no objections from neighbours. They said his plans exceeded the 6ft limit between the boundary and the 9ft maximum height. The former I’m A Celebrity winner paid £620,000 for the house in 2004, and it is now estimated to be worth some £1.2 million.

however, the setback is unlikely to deter Tuffers from going into bat again. he plans a long innings at Tadworth. ‘My wife is from the area and I just followed her,’ he explained some years after his move. ‘It’s rural without being too remote and I love it here. We’re close to major places such as Sutton and Kingston and it is good for heathrow and Gatwick.

‘Our house needed renovating and slowly, through the years, we’ve done it up.

‘ I love a comfortable, airy place and we have big rooms that merge into one another. If you are sitting in one, you don’t feel isolated from all the others, so it is easy to mingle.

‘ We’re always entertaining friends. The garden is about 150ft long and backs on to farmland. It’s ideal to eat out in when the weather is good.’

Tuffers retired from professional cricket in 2003 and became a popular personality on the TV quiz show A Question Of Sport, until he was axed in 2020. he’s a much- loved member of his local community, being a regular at Tadworth Cricket Club, and is also an ambassador for the Children’s Trust which supports youngsters with brain injuries.

One of his favourite Tadworth watering holes is The Grumpy Mole, an appropriate spot to plot his return match against his council. A representative for Phil Tufnell was unavailable for comment.