Hot tub craned out of Captain Tom's daughter's luxury spa as demolition begins
A spa pool has been removed from an unauthorised spa pool block at the home of Covid lockdown hero Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter.
The £200,000 spa - next to Hannah Ingram-Moore's lavish £1.2million home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire - is set to be fully demolished by next Wednesday (February 7). Workers last week set up a tarpaulin around the C-shaped complex, with belongings being removed. Yesterday, Ms Ingram-Moore was seen looking glum as the sink was taken out.
Residents have previously said Captain Tom's legacy has been "tarnished" by the scandal after he raised close to £40million for the NHS during the Covid pandemic. The war veteran, who died aged 100 in February 2021, was knighted after he completed 10 laps of his garden each day.
Central Bedfordshire Council originally granted the couple permission to build a small charity office in the name of the Captain Tom Foundation in 2021. The Ingram-Moores' application claimed it would be used partly "in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives".
A spa pool is removed from an unauthorised spa pool block (PA)Then a subsequent retrospective application in 2022 added plans for a spa pool, changing rooms, toilets and showers. The complex was referred to as The Captain Tom Building and described as "a new building for use by the occupiers".
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The ruling demanded the spa be knocked down within three months. Earlier this week, a low-loader lorry was seen entering the back garden of their home for scaffolding to be erected. Photos from today showed a crane on the site lifting out the pool itself, with further birds' eye view snaps showing the gutted block.
The spa will be fully demolished next week (PA)Ms Ingram-Moore admitted to pocketing money from the funds raised during a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV. She said: "We have to accept that we made a decision, and it was probably the wrong one." She revealed they kept £800,000 from the three books her dad had written - claiming he had wanted them to keep the profits.
Other controversies include her £18,000 payment to attend the Captain Tom awards and only donating £2,000 of it to his charity. Ms Ingram-Moore and husband Colin Ingram-Moore lost a fight to overturn a council decision in October last year to tear it down. They had six weeks to appeal but opted against it. The Planning Inspectorate previously ruled the spa was built illegally.
Work continues to demolish an unauthorised spa pool block at the home of Hannah Ingram-Moore (PA)Speaking yesterday, residents said they were pleased the so-called "eyesore" is on its way out. Neighbour Jilly Bozdogan, 70, said: "The tiles are coming off fast and furious. I am glad they are finally getting on with it. It has been a long drawn-out saga. My garden backs onto it and it is an eyesore. I have had to plant trees to try to block it out."
Angry neighbour Ian Knight told the Independent he felt "embarrassed" when people ask about the controversial spa. "We were proud of what he's done but now we're the laughing stock," he said. "They've spoilt everything. It was a good thing what he's done, and now it's embarrassing."
Hannah Ingram-Moore looks on as workmen remove the last remaining fixtures (Bav Media)Another neighbour claimed it has "devalued" other homes and looks like a "prison", and another that the couple has "never spoken to anybody" and that the spa "doesn't sit well" within the grounds of listed building or the housing around it. Another added: "The worst bit is that it's made a mockery of Captain Tom's name."
The court was also told the Foundation will be shut down when a Charity Commission probe concludes. An initial investigation was escalated into a statutory inquiry in June 2022. Accounts showed it had given £160,000 in charitable grants while £240,000 was spent on management and fundraising costs.
Captain Sir Tom Moore with daughter Hannah (PA)In its first year of operation, more than £54,000 was also reimbursed to Club Nook Limited and Maytrix Group Limited, controlled by the couple. In a statement, a spokesperson said: "At this moment in time, the sole focus of The Captain Tom Foundation is to ensure that it cooperates fully with the ongoing Statutory Inquiry by the Charity Commission. As a result, The Captain Tom Foundation is not presently actively seeking any funding from donors."
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