I've spent £35,000 building a World War II style bunker in my garden - The Great Escape inspired me

Dave Billings, 43, is digging deep into his childhood dream paying homage to one history’s most famous prison breaks - in his garden.

Dave decided to build his own underground bunker and tunnel like that used by Allied prisoners of war who famously fled Stalag Luft III.

The real story was later made into a film "The Great Escape" in 1963. Dave’s massive DIY project began 11 years ago when he constructed a small bunker on his property.

The site originally had nothing more than an old well, so he built stairs which now lead to his 140 ft (13sqm) bunker.

Last year, he embarked on the next phase of his project - a larger bunker which is connected to the first bunker via a 35-foot-long tunnel.

Dave, from Derbyshire, said: “I’ve always wanted to find a bunker on the property, but when I didn’t I thought I’ll build one myself. It’s a bit of a childhood dream, really.”

Inspired by the iconic escape tunnel from WWII prisoner camps, Dave meticulously crafted the tunnel by hand and plans to line it with wood to replicate the original.

The extensive project involves a tunnel stretching 35 feet from the small bunker to a new livable 320ft (25sqm) bunker.

Although, not connected to his house yet, Dave plans to extend his house closer to the bunker and create a secret door inside his home that will lead directly to the bunker.

His long-term goal is to create a fully connected underground network linking his house, the tunnel, and a new livable bunker.

Dave said: “I want to be able to walk through the house, down into the bunker, through the tunnel and come up out of the well in the garden. It’s like a secret passageway. Plus, if I have friends over they can use the tunnel without disturbing my wife!”

Dave has even constructed a "beer lift" disguised as a keg to carry drinks down to the bunker. He said: “I made a barrel lift because the stairs are tricky for carrying stuff like beers. So now I can just send them down in style."

So far, Dave has spent £30k on his new bunker and he estimates the final cost to be around £35k.

Dave said : “I spent about £4k on bricks and then other materials like concrete, waterproofing and insulation. Since I’m building everything myself, I’ve been able to cut costs on a lot of things.”

Dave is aiming to complete the new bunker by Christmas with plans to fill it with quirky gadgets including a remote-controlled fridge.

He said: “I’m just doing silly things. I want to have a remote-controlled fridge that drives up to you with a beer. "But I haven't thought how I would turn that dream into reality.

“I designed everything in Computer-aided design but I’ve got a structural engineer checking the specs."

Once complete, the bunker will feature a projector, gaming simulator and plenty of high-tech gadgets making it the ultimate man cave. Dave said: “It’ll never be fully finished. "I’ll always be adding new inventions and maybe even another tunnel.”