Beachcomber told to leave driftwood home of 25 years

A real-life castaway who has spent 25 years building his remote shack from driftwood has been told to leave because his home is illegal.


Photo from SWNS.

David Burgess, 63, has created a beachfront hut from the tumbledown remains of a 17th Century bark drying house, with whatever has washed up on the isolated stretch of coastline at Embelle Wood near Porlock, Somerset.

The woodland site is almost an hour's walk from the nearest road down a treacherous path and only a handful of people know of his existence. He sleeps on a mattress made of dried leaves.


Photo from SWNS.

But bosses at Exmoor National Park claim they own the site and have ordered him to leave. Mr Burgess says he has no intention of giving up his Robinson Crusoe existence and has vowed to stay.

There's a news video here.