A millionaire accountant has been jailed for ignoring a court order to tear down ‘Britain’s best man cave’ after a marathon battle with the council.

Grandfather-of-five Graham Wildin, 70, is waking up behind bars this weekend after an eight-year fight over his home sport and leisure complex, which includes a bowling alley, mini-casino, squash court and cinema.

He was told he was being locked up for six weeks after judge Jarman QC ruled Wildin’s attitude showed he had been determined not to comply with repeated orders from the Forest of Dean District Council throughout the planning case over the hulking construction at the accountant’s home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire.

Deputy council leader Paul Hiett said: ‘The enforcement case against Mr Wildin has been a long and complex road.

‘In what should have been a completely avoidable situation, Mr Wildin has continually ignored planning law and policies that are there to protect local communities.

‘The law is the law and we won’t give up pursuing Mr Wildin and ensuring that he complies with the legislation in exactly the same way as everyone else… to protect local communities from behaviour like we’ve seen in this case, we will continue to pursue those that ignore planning policy using the routes set out in law.’

Wildin was led away by court security guards wheeling a small suitcase and put in a prison van outside Cardiff High Court on Friday.

His jailing will not end the saga as the judge told Wildin he has 18 weeks to comply with the dismantling order when he comes out of prison.

The judge did not accept the accountant’s claims he had done most of the clearance work on his cavernous man cave, but could not afford to pay workers to finish it or physically complete it alone. 

He also refused to adjourn the case for two months after Wildin said he needed more time to hire a solicitor and claim legal aid.

The millionaire, whose complex has been dubbed ‘Britain’s best man cave’, built it in 2014 and was given two years to remove it in 2018.

Wars with his neighbours over the works have included Wildin shifting his classic car collection onto the street in March, causing ‘parking chaos’ for locals.

It is also alleged he bought neighbouring land and property for his family and transferred ownership to other relatives in an attempt to block any moves by the council to have his luxury sanctuary forcibly removed.

Planning inspectors and courts have all agreed over the years the massive man cave was built without permission and given various deadlines for alterations and its removal.

A June 2021 order gave Wildin 18 weeks to cut off its water, electricity and gas and remove all fixtures, fittings and furniture from inside the building. 

On Friday, the court heard when enforcement officer Stephen Colgate visited the property on August 11 with two police community support officers they found lights on, taps running, toilets flushing and the noise of a gas boiler running. 

The casino and bar had been removed but most of work that needed to be done to comply with the court order was not finished.

Sentencing Wildin to six weeks behind bars, the judge awarded £10,000 costs to the council and told the accountant to render the building unusable when he comes out of prison or face being brought back before court, when he could again face more jail time.

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