An Otley couple have found an unusual plot to build their dream house - their back garden.

Ian and Dorothy Blackie, who have lived in Otley for 30 years, loved the location so much they decided to use the acre of land at the back of their house in East Busk Lane to construct their ideal home.

They began building the four-bedroomed house in July 1998 and are set to move in by Christmas this year.

The couple have lived in their three-bedroom detached bungalow for 14 years but are now counting down the days until they can move into their four-bedroom two-storey dream home.

Mrs Blackie said the bungalow had already been sold.

The 63-year-old retired cattery owner added: "We have always been interested in that type of thing. After three years of reading self-build books and going to exhibitions, we decided to go for it."

Mrs Blackie designed the house herself, with the help of the couple's son, Stuart, a building control surveyor.

"I was working on a vision of my dream house, very traditional with double doors and cream rendering. I wanted it to have a little piece of Yorkshire so we placed dentil stones around the eaves," she said.

Mr Blackie, 61, an electrician before starting a career at Yorkshire Television, drew on his experience when overseeing the project - but his wife had to start from scratch.

She said: "Friends of ours built a house in Scotland so we knew what was ahead of us. I had no real experience but we just set about building and glazing."

The couple did most of the work themselves - but with the expert help of two bricklayers, one joiner and a roofing contractor.

"Once we got started everything went pretty smoothly. But we did appreciate the experts' help with the more difficult bits like the stairs," added Mrs Blackie. "Our friends thought we were mad but they soon offered to help. One friend installed our central heating."

She would not hesitate to recommend to others the benefits of building your own house.

"Once you get going there is no looking back. I would tell anyone interested to go for it. If we can do it, so can others," she said.

Mr Blackie believes they have saved themselves almost 50 per cent of the market value of the property. "It's a really tremendous saving. There's a lot of hard work involved, but you can't argue against those sort of figures," he said.

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