Forest of Dean District Council has set to work demolishing a leisure complex that was built without planning permission by a local millionaire.
Work began on Friday to remove the 10,000 sq ft leisure complex built in Cinderford in 2014 by Graham Wildin.
Dubbed ‘Britain's biggest man cave’, the building houses a bowling alley, casino, and cinema.
Mr Wildin received multiple court orders to demolish the building and even served time in prison for contempt of court after he refused to remove it.
A council spokesperson said: ‘As a council it is our duty to ensure that planning and development proposals comply with the law and bring benefit to the local area, whilst also safeguarding the community.
‘Hundreds of people every year follow the correct process for planning applications and development, sadly this has not been the case at this location.
‘It is important to note that the cost of this process should not be borne by the taxpayer, and we will look to recover the full cost of the demolition from the landowner in due course.’
