A derelict water pump station that was transformed into a luxury countryside getaway is now being booked up by celebrities. Kidderminster couple Tyler Richards, aged 29, and his girlfriend Megan Mullen-Knight, aged 26, spent £50,000 transforming the neglected concrete tank in Trimpley after snapping it up at auction in May 2022. The innovative pair paid £55,000 for the former Severn Trent Water building, which measures just 3.
5m (11ft) x 2m (6ft), and found it "dark, damp and full of spiders". Builder Mr Richards and his dad Darren, aged 57, then went about transforming the site into a £200-a-night deluxe retreat complete with hot tub, indoor cinema and putting green. It took a lot of hard work to transform the site (Image: Tyler Richards / SWNS) They took out thick concrete walls - built to withstand thousands of tonnes of water - to put in French doors and an outdoor area offering amazing countryside views.
The upstairs control room was converted into a stylish living space, kitchen and bathroom while the downstairs tank is now an underground cinema bedroom. The property recently featured on Channel 4's 'George Clarke's Amazing Spaces' with the host describing it as "off-the-scale brilliant" with a "serious wow factor". The incredible deluxe duplex was built by Mr Richards and his father with the inside being decorated and furnished by interior designer Ms Mullen-Knight.
Mr Richards said: "I only live a few minutes down the road and I was driving along one day when I saw this place and wondered what on earth it was. I jumped the fence and went and had a look at it and I instantly saw it had potential as a possible property mainly because of the stunning views up there. "I showed it to my dad and he thought the same so we had a look online to see how much it was being auctioned for.
We sort of just fell in love with the place even though it was this neglected Severn Trent building. When we got inside it, it was dirty, damp and dark and we knew we had one hell of a job on our hands. But Megan has an amazing eye and we had this vision for it, which we determined to make a reality.
" The water tank is now available on Airbnb (Image: Anita Maric / SWNS) The converted water tank has already been going down a treat with guests and Mr Richards said people are now driving for hours to enjoy a short stay. The couple have even welcomed celebrities to the retreat including Love Island stars. Mr Richards said: "People are driving hours to get here now.
We've had Love Island contestants staying here and other celebrities enquiring. "We went about £20,000 over budget but we didn't skimp on anything. Everything is the best quality as those are the standards we set ourselves.
"The word 'Instagrammable' is thrown around a lot but that's the sort of thing we were after. People love taking and sharing pictures of it." The couple now have seven properties on Airbnb and are booked up until September.
Tyler Richards, Megan Mullen-Knight and Darren Richards (Image: Anita Maric / SWNS) Ms Mullen-Knight added: "Between us, we bounce ideas off each other so as soon as we stepped in here we thought we can put this here, this could be the kitchen. "We would bring people up and they would be like 'wow, I'm not sure how you're going to create that'. "It's not big enough to live in but when we've got a free night we come up and enjoy it.
The first time we came down it was dark, cold and full of spiders and now it's amazing. The creative couple are letting the transformed space on Airbnb alongside other properties via their company Hidden Gems Luxury Escapes. The family-run business has more than 150,000 Instagram followers with many of their posts getting more than six million views.
To book visit https://www.airbnb.co.
uk/users/show/455938042.
