Michael Jackson’s former bodyguard has revealed how he nearly bought the million-pound property in Devon dubbed Britain’s ‘saddest house’ and has revealed what stopped him
Fans of Grand Designs will be familiar with the story of the multi-million pound property on Chesil Cliff in Croyde, North Devon and its former owner Edward Short, 52.
His plan was to turn the dilapidated lighthouse into a luxury eco-friendly but the decade-long transformation – which was only meant to take 18 months and cost £1.8million – but ended up leaving him on the edge of bankruptcy.
After what felt like a ‘cursed’ project that ended up costing him his 20-year marriage to his wife Hazel and drowning in a pool of £7million debt, Mr Short finally managed to sell the property for £4.35million.
But Edward and his former wife Hazel aren’t set to see a penny themselves as the mansion was in the hands of the receivers when it was up for sale.
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Edward, his wife Hazel, 60, and daughters Nicole, 24, and Lauren, 25, moved from London to Devon in 2004, and paid £1.4million for the crumbling lighthouse in 2008.
The father of two spent 10 years building the impressive five-bedroom home on the rugged North Devon coastline near Braunton. He had ambitious plans to transform the 1950s home into a stunning property complete with a private beach cove and an infinity pool.
Last year, the property went up for sale through debt collectors for a cut-price of £5.25million, after Mr Short initially listed it for £10million.
And it seems Edward’s bad luck doesn’t end with the sale of the house. He has now also split from his new partner, Jalia Nambasa, according to The Sun.
The couple were planning to tie the knot but, despite the strong bond that came from experiencing the housing saga together, decided to go their separate ways in June.
Michael Jackson’s former bodyguard, who was widely speculated to be the potential buyer, has confirmed he was not-involved in the eventual sale and isn’t the new owner of the property.
Matt Fiddes, said: “I visited the property again and considered offering £4 million which I believe would have got the deal over the line. My plan was to support what the Croyde locals wanted and to demolish the current property and to build a realistic few properties that would go inline with the other properties.
“I met with contractors who worked on the property who had reached out to me to point out shortcuts that were made in materials including safety windows that were not the standard needed with such harsh weather in that area. The windows were already cracked and broken.
“There were also issues with the cliff being dangerous to park at night. You could find yourself on the sea with ease. I met with the council representative of the area and the general feeling from the local people is that it’s become a dangerous tourist attraction on a very dangerous road.
“The house had fallen into disrepair with no security or privacy and was being lived in by squatters. The property had been graffitied too. I was told by the contractors who worked on the property it would need a further £2 million to bring the house to living standards.
“When it’s featured on Grand Designs it’s not a true representative of the main lighthouse which is basically first fix electrics and no bathrooms, kitchens etc. Most footage used was from the other property ‘The Eye’. And a small amount of furniture was placed in the tower of the light house to make it look finished.”
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