A father who spent £66,000 to construct an off-grid pirate ship home may have to tear it down after building it without planning permission.

Sam Griffiss, 35, sold his house in July last year before buying a £500 boat frame from eBay to create an ‘off-grid paradise’ by the River Severn in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

The former construction worker dedicated two months and ‘every bit’ of his life-savings to the strange ship-shaped structure, named the Daisy May, which he moved into in January.

But now he risks losing his home, which he believes is the only one of its kind in the UK, if he cannot get retrospective planning permission from Wyre Forest District Council.

Mr Griffiss said: ‘I’ll be damned if they try and make me tear it down. I have plenty of people who will come and stand with me if that occasion ever comes.

‘I’ve spent every bit of money on this.’

The father-of-one splashed out £25,000 converting the former fishing boat into a habitable ‘pirate ship’ and cabin dormer on stilts as well as forking out £11,000 on a moveable wood-fire sauna.

Mr Griffiss hopes his home will function as a community centre for outdoor activities as he awaits the council decision which he says will ‘make or break him’.

Sam Griffiss (pictured) spent £66,000 to construct an off-grid pirate ship home on the River Severn in Bewdley, Worcestershire, and now risks losing his home 

The former construction worker dedicated two months and ‘every bit’ of his life-savings to the strange ship-shaped structure, named the Daisy May, which he moved into in January

He spent £500 for a boat frame from eBay and splashed out £25,000 converting the former fishing boat into a habitable ‘pirate ship’ and cabin dormer on stilts

 Mr Griffiss kept to a ship-inspired decor inside of his off-grid home, the Daisy May 

He heats his home and cooks using wood stoves, camping stoves and a diesel heater and has a shed for a toilet and bathroom

He lives completely off-grid, harvesting rainwater and getting power from generators and solar panels on his 100 square metre plot.

Mr Griffiss described being ‘into the outdoors for years’, while the ‘off-grid lifestyle always appealed’, especially since the pandemic.

He said: ‘Life got really expensive and I realised I was living to pay the bills.

‘When I split from my partner, I had a bit of equity from the house, so I decided to use all my savings to build my off-grid pirate ship, the Daisy May.

‘After the house sold, I just decided to go for it. I found this old 1970s day fishing boat on eBay which a guy in London had started refurbishing but never finished.

‘It’s known as a clinker and was used on the Thames Estuary. We travelled down to collect it with a trailer and brought it back up to the land which I bought a few years ago for £28,000.’

Mr Griffiss said he ‘intended to build a canoe shack’ but plans changed after the Council ‘wanted a lot of details’, leading him to choose a boat as he believed he didn’t need planning permission.

Mr Griffiss heats his home and cooks using wood stoves, camping stoves and a diesel heater and has a shed for a toilet and bathroom.

He said: ‘You just figure it out as you go along.

‘The only thing I miss is instantly having warm water, instead of having to use a kettle, but other than that I wouldn’t change a thing.’

Mr Griffiss admitted he knew the council would deny planning permission for the Daisy May but went ahead nonetheless as he ‘didn’t have anywhere to live’. 

Mr Griffiss denied being a ‘rebel or a criminal’ but settled on described what he is doing as ‘fighting the system’ as ‘quite pirate-like’ 

He lives completely off-grid and gets power from generators and solar panels on his 100 square metre plot

He harvests rainwater and described being ‘into the outdoors for years’ as the ‘off-grid lifestyle always appealed’

He forked out £11,000 on a moveable wood-fire sauna (pictured) which sits on his plot

He has ‘spent every bit’ of his money on the Daisy May, including on a moveable sauna (pictured)

He said: ‘I knew they would say no to start with as well, but I have built everything by the book in terms of moveable objects and agricultural buildings.

‘I also needed a fixed abode so my daughter could stay with me. That is why I now need this to happen, I need an official address.

‘I’m not a rebel or a criminal, although I guess what I am doing is quite pirate-like, fighting the system.’

Mr Griffiss told the council in January about the Daisy May but is urging a planning officer to see the structure themselves.

He said: ‘I’m a dad to the most beautiful little girl, and I want this to be her legacy. She will look back and remember it was her dad who was the man who built a pirate ship on the river.

‘I think it’s inevitable that the council will want me to tear it down and won’t be on board with it, but I’m going to stand my ground and fight for my home.

‘If they came down and had a look in person, then they would see that I’m a good guy trying to give back to the community.’

Mr Griffiss hopes to use the space to create a public wellbeing hub called the Connection Club.

He said: ‘Too much time is spent in front of a screen, so people really don’t know what they’re missing.

‘It’s so beautiful being close to Wyre Forest and I can even hear the lions roaring from West Midlands Safari Park.’

A Wyre Forest District Council spokesperson said: ‘This property is currently part of an active investigation case.

‘As details of ongoing cases are confidential, we are unable to provide a comment at this time.’