A DIY enthusiast with plenty of time on his hands has created an incredible outdoor kitchen after clearing his "dumping ground" of a garden.
Colin Davies, of Southport, Merseyside, has kept himself busy in lockdown with the at-home project growing and growing as the months went on - and the results are astonishing.
The 57-year-old has revamped the space with a BBQ, wood fired oven and roof pergola after initially planning to just get rid of the accumulated mess, reports the Liverpool Echo.
To his surprise last week, the amateur handyman was crowned the winner of a home build projects competition run by Ironmongery Direct, beating scores of professional tradespeople.
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Colin's wife Andrea had entered him in secret after watching how much hard work her husband had put into the garden refurbishment.
The proud partner, also 57, said: "He was just going to clear the mess at the bottom of the garden at the start of lockdown because it was just a dump with lots of old rubbish.
"The longer that lockdown went on and you couldn't go out or do anything it just got bigger and bigger.
"He started thinking he could turn it into somewhere that we could have family and friends and socially distance when we were allowed to do so."
Colin, originally from Speke, a suburb of Liverpool, did the entire project single-handedly.
After clearing the space the former Director of Estate at Liverpool John Moores University began building the kitchen.
And new features kept being added, from a small Japanese garden to a wood-fired oven.
"A lot of the materials he used were recycled. Our neighbour next door to us had previously had a new roof on their garage and they were throwing away these lovely old tiles," Andrea continued.
"My husband said to her 'I'll buy them off you' but she just gave them to him. They were covered in filth because they'd been there for two years under rubbish but he cleaned them up and used them.
"He loves cooking so he built a wood fired oven and a big kitchen area. He built a fully tiled gazebo, a BBQ and a wine wrack from old roof tiles.
"I'm just so proud of him, he's done everything himself.
"It was back breaking work. All the materials were dropped off at the front on the drive and no one could come round to help because of Covid."
As a volunteer and trustee for the mental health charity Compass Counselling in Liverpool, Colin is keen to inspire others to get involved in gardening or DIY projects, due to the positive impact this can have on your mental health.
Andrea added: "I think if you're lucky enough to have a garden, or even if you don't have one, you could start gardening by growing herbs on your window ledge."
As a result of winning the competition Colin won £250 in vouchers to spend with IronmongeryDirect .
He plans to carry on with the project and has recently launched his own website called Scouse Mr Darcy Cooks, where he will post DIY tips and recipes he has made in his kitchen, with links to local businesses where people can buy items from.
Andrea said: "He is very modest, I think he was shocked when he found out.
"He was made up that he had won the vouchers. He said 'what can I build next?'."