Inside spa complex of Captain Tom’s family compared to 'unhappy swingers' party'
Captain Tom Moore’s family have been ordered to tear down the pool and spa building in the grounds of their Bedfordshire home - with people quick to mock the set-up that was ‘too ugly’ to have been built in the first place.
The controversial complex was originally meant as a hub for the Captain Tom Foundation which launched upon the veteran fundraiser's death in 2021, but Hannah Ingram-Moore later submitted retrospective planning permission after it was built with a pool, spa and changing facilities. Photos of the building and its lay-out have sparked ridicule on Twitter, with jokers comparing the relaxation room to the scene of an adult party.
One user wrote: “The placement of that sofa thing facing the jacuzzi is very unsavoury. Like the scene of a deeply unhappy swingers party.” Whilst another joked: “The real criminal is the architect who designed her spa to look like a 1970s GP surgery… I’m surprised they haven’t just ruled it’s too ugly to comply with planning regs.”
Hannah Ingram-Moore told TalkTV's Piers Morgan the spa complex was built with money made from the war veteran's book deal and not from money donated to the charity in his name. Captain Tom shot to fame when he raised £38million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020. He died in February 2021.
While speaking during the TV interview a photograph of inside the spa complex was shown on screen as the family claimed they did nothing wrong and did not take from the charity to build it. His daughter insisted that when her father's agent brokered his three-book deal he insisted the money was for his family to have. The family said there was no suggestion that anyone buying the books - for which the profits amounted to around £800,000 - thought they were donating to charity.
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