He said that his garden, which spans a third of an acre, is on the site of an old brickworks which made bricks for the Kings Cross and St Pancras stations.

Having taken out the clay for bricks, a hole was left which the Victorians used as a refuse tip, which was eventually covered over by top soil. This left an incline which was left uncultivated for years.

Graham (71) said: "When I came here most of the site was covered in trees, bushes, brambles and bindweed, and the eradication of the bindweed is still ongoing. My garden really was a tip."

The rear of his bungalow, named Sunny Corner in Thornborough Close, Little Bowden, faces south so the patio he built is a wonderful sun trap and is ideal for summer parties with family and friends.

The top of the garden has a variety of bushes which is a haven for birds and wildlife and is an ideal place for the grandchildren to build dens.

For them he has built a treehouse and swings and they have a wonderful time playing in the garden.

He hopes his nine grandchildren, whose ages range from 11 to 24, and three great grandchildren, who are six, four and nearly one year old, have happy memories of gran and grandad and the garden.

Graham has built a wildlife pond, recently full of newts and tadpoles which he hopes will eventually help to control the infestation of slugs, and to lighten the shady part of the garden he built a balustrade and has a white painted statue.

He says there are many other features to enhance what he calls "my bit of heaven."

His garden shed has also attracted a celebrity gardener – Alan Titchmarsh called in during a flying visit to the area ten years ago to have a look at it, although Graham can't remember why.

Graham has a funny story about the shed; he said that it is sited on top of an old heavy spring which he tried but failed to remove so he concreted over it and put the shed on top – he said one day he might see his shed do a back-flip over the fence!