Renowned eccentric Jake Mangle-Wurzel's home has been sold with an unusual sitting tenant - the late owner himself.
The anonymous purchaser who bought the property that 83-year-old Jake called Wurzeland will be sharing it with his tomb, as detailed in the estate agent's listing. The large plot of land fetched £125,000 at auction - £50,000 more than the guide price of £75,000.
The detached house on the site at Peat Ponds, Salendine Nook, Huddersfield, was badly damaged in a fire in 2010 - and six years later another fire destroyed the static caravan hoarder Jake had moved in to. He is buried in a tomb in the garden, the Huddersfield Examiner reports.
Auction House Manchester has confirmed the property, his home for decades, has been sold though no details of the purchaser have been made available. Whoever does take it on faces a major demolition or rebuilding task.
The auctioneers told prospective bidders: "The existing house now requires extensive rebuilding works and refurbishing throughout. But there is the potential to significantly extend the existing property subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents."
Jake died from cancer in August last year. The madcap jester who described himself as Huddersfield's "joker in chief" kept the West Yorkshire town in stitches for decades with his antics - the least of which was driving around with a kitchen sink and other items strapped to the top of his motor.
He became so well known that TV companies took an interest in him, and a documentary film about him called Mr Somebody was made. He co-operated with the film but then fell out with the director over the finished product.
He had been preparing his tomb for years, describing it as Huddersfield's answer to the Taj Mahal. It features a headstone dedicated to a woman called Mary Ann that he claimed to have bought for £10 at a memorial sale.
Jake claimed to have been married seven or eight times, once to his dog and once to a 19-year-old mud wrestler. It is understood his last wife, nurse Jackie Smith, from Leeds, who did not share his home, will inherit the proceeds from the sale of the property. She declined to discuss the sale.
Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman, who knew Jake, well said: "It's nice that Jake's house has been sold. Jake Mangle-Wurzel was a real character and once gave me a passport to Wurzeland and was mostly an amusing character but not always. I'm delighted that his house is going into good hands."
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