It boasts ten bedrooms, two staircases and even servants' quarters.

But the man who spent 15 years building his dream home cannot even set foot inside.

That is because Peter Riches' stunning 23-room property is a little too small to be habitable.

The retired builder created the amazing dolls house by hand in a remarkable show of patience.

If it was life-sized it would be the envy of any estate agent's books.

Residents can play on the hand-crafted snooker table in its games room, enjoy a recital in the music room which houses a grand piano or sit and read one of the 1,000 books in the well-stocked library.

For Peter, 64, of Clarendon Villas, Hove, the house has been a labour of love which has taken up almost all of his free time.

But in a surprise move he has revealed that he is poised to accept £50,000 for his labour of love, after a Canadian buyer approached him.

He said: “I've loved building it. I have found it very therapeutic and will often stay up until 3am doing it.

“But now it's finished I want to build another one.

“I only want this one out of the way because I need the room.”

Attention to detail is central to Peter's meticulous craftsmanship.

He works out the scales of all of his models himself and uses a magnifying glass to ensure every subtle aspect of his creations are perfect.

Peter's fascination with model-building started when he was about five.

From his early days making model aeroplanes, his hobby progressed to building bigger and more intricate designs, including an 8ft model of HMS Victory from thousands of matchsticks.

It took seven years to finish.

His next project is a model Sussex Yeoman's Long-house, dating back to 1550.

He said: “I will be sad to see this house go but I'm really looking forward to building the next one.

“I've already drawn up the plans and scaled it all.

“It's going to be about the same size and have a roof thatched with coconut hairs.”

How the intricate detail was created Necklace beads were used for snooker balls.

Window glass was hand-made from pieces of flattened bottle plastic.

The shell of the house was made from plaster as Peter hand-etched the 32,000 bricks in the walls and cut the 5,000 roof tiles from cardboard.

The books in the library are individually bound and many of them are filled with newsprint from The Argus.

Have you crafted anything to compete with Mr Riches' creation? Tell us by calling Samuel Underwood on 01273 544539 or by leaving comments below.