Mid-Earth retreat for cavemen

FORGET a shed in the back garden or a den in the basement – this is surely the ultimate man cave.

A former recruitment boss dug deep and forked out £100 000 (R2.4m) to transform a 250-million-year-old cave into the perfect retreat.

The cave – which had been dank and crumbling – is now fitted out with running water, electricity, underfloor heating and even wi-fi.

Angelo Mastropietro spent eight months renovating the 5-roomed dwelling, excavating around 70 tons of rubble by hand and digging an 80m borehole for the water.

It is cut into sandstone cliffs in the Wyre Forest in Worcestershire, an area said to have inspired JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth, and was first inhabited around 800 years ago but abandoned in the 1960s.

Mastropietro, 38, who grew up in the area, discovered the cave in 1999 during a bike ride. He later moved to Australia, where he was the boss of a recruitment firm. But in 2007, the father of two was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and gave up his job for a simpler life.

When he moved back to the UK in 2010, he learnt the cave was for sale for £62 000 and decided to buy it.

The planning process alone took nearly two years and cost £16 000.

For those hoping for a taste of the hermit lifestyle, he rents the house out for £195 a night. – Daily Mail