Is this the biggest ever Grand Designs disaster? Man who’s spent ten years trying to build an art-deco lighthouse reveals he’s lost £4million and RUINED his marriage – and still needs £2million to finish it

A man with a life-long dream of building a lighthouse has revealed he's been left in debt of almost £4 million and sacrificed his marriage for the project - which is still unfinished.

Edward Short, 50, and his wife Hazel, from Devon, first appeared on Grand Designs in 2010 to reveal their ambitious plan to transform their 1950s home into an art-deco white lighthouse in 2010.

But in last night's episode, the music industry executive revealed that the arrival of the recession, building issues and the breakdown of their marriage had left the dream in tatters, and almost a decade on, the lighthouse is still unfinished.

Edward described how the build had destroyed his family over the past decade, saying: 'If there is one huge guilt I have over everything, it's the impact on my family.' He admitted his 'vanity' had put his wife Hazel through a 'horrendous time', leading to their split last year.

On last night's programme, Edward explained that he'd long dreamed of building a lighthouse on the cliff - but said several factors got in the way.

'I always looked at it and thought it would be so cool to knock it down and build a lighthouse,' says Edward, speaking of how he decided to revamp their existing property.

Once you get a dream like that in your head it just doesn't budge. It's just one of those spots where you could expect to find that type of building.'

'This house doesn't do the spot justice,' admitted Hazel. 'We want glistening white, with lots of glass. It should look striking. It should look fantastic.'

The couple planned to build the luxury home, comprised of a huge circular tower and spectacular glass-edge infinity pool, in just 18 months.

The six-bedroom house, which they hoped would also feature a home cinema, a sauna and steam room, would boast panoramic views across Croyde Bay to the north, as well as to Saunton beach and Braunton Burrows to the south.

They hoped it would cost £2.2 million, but it quickly became apparent the build was impossible to complete.

Edward struggled to acknowledge the project was 'dangerous' for the construction team to work on due to its clifftop location.

He said: 'That’s a dangerous site for a construction team to work on. I think professional fees are around a quarter of a million, but they will make sure it's done properly.'

The house required complex engineering, with the couple sinking 25 'anchors' into the rock in order to support the home.

But by February 2012, the financial collapse meant they had to put plans on hold and they started to build a smaller building further along the coastline which they nicknamed the 'eye'.

In February 2016, Edwards secured a loan of £2.5 million from private investors, which he admitted he was depending on to finish the build.

He told Kevin the project had become a nightmare, saying: 'Terrifying is an adjective that doesn’t really sum it up if I'm honest.'

When Kevin asked if he could have compromised, Edward said: 'You are right but the concept is very difficult to walk away from. No to compromise. To owe over £2million now is scary you think "Christ this is mounting up".'

With the financial pressure growing, Hazel said she was becoming increasingly worried.

She said: 'Worse case scenario is we will have to sell the whole thing. Yes, that’s a scary thing and yes, that keeps me up at night.'

With debts of over three million, the couple were trapped by the thought that if they were to finish the project, it could end up selling for £7 million.

But when Kevin returned to the property earlier this year, he found it was still unfinished. The presenter described it as 'the bare bones of a house and more like a desolate carcass'.

He went on to say: 'It’s a little bit like finding the wreckage of a building on a seashore'. Edward said: 'I've had better days I must admit. It all came to a halt in June, July 2017. I ran out of money.'

He revealed: 'A bit of an eyesore is the feeling at the moment. I sometimes wonder if I might have been too ambitious. There's what I want, and there's reality.'

Admitting he was almost £4 million in debt, he told Kevin that he'd taken to staying in 'The Eye', the home he spent £1 million building a short distance down the coast.

But he also said he wasn't permitted to live there permanently due to risks of being too close to the building site of the lighthouse.

He told Kevin his marriage had collapsed due to the strain, insisted he would still try to finish the building.

He said: 'I don’t have the option of not finishing. To finish it may take over £2 million.

'This is a beast, this is a baby that is so hungry it will eat me. It's that savage now. The end-game could still be bankruptcy.

'If there is one huge guilt I have over everything, it's the impact on my family.' He said the build had destroyed his marriage, saying: 'We parted properly last year.

'I put her through a horrendous time with this, knocking the family home down, putting all our money into it, no one has any idea what the outcome is.

Ref: Property Report