A Yorkshire cottage owned by a well-known local eccentric is for sale – but the buyers will have to contend with his grave in the grounds.

Jake Mangle-Wurzel asked to be buried in the garden of Peat Ponds, his home in Salendine Nook, near Huddersfield, following his death aged 83 in 2021.

The dilapidated property will be sold at auction on October 25 by a family member with a guide price of £75,000.

He was a ‘professional eccentric’ and TV personality who changed his name by deed poll in the 1970s, and featured in the 2014 documentary Mr Somebody?

Jake Mangle-Wurzel lived at Peat Ponds in Salendine Nook, near Huddersfield

The house requires extensive modernisation and renovation and his remains are still interred in the grounds.

Yet local campaigners have set up a Gofundme page for donations to enable them to purchase the property to prevent the grave being disturbed – describing it as a ‘piece of local history’.

One, Adam Booth, said: "My intention is to protect the grave and cottage. I intend to make the necessary legal arrangements to ensure that the title deeds include a permanent covenant, prohibiting the demolition of the cottage and removal of the grave indefinitely.

"The cottage and land are currently spread across two separate Land Registry titles, which are the original plot and the land the Jake had encroached upon and acquired over the years. I intend to carry out the necessary formalities to merge these into one single title for future ease.

Many of his possessions remain on the plot

“I intend to respectfully tidy up the site, removing the overgrown greenery allowing the grounds, grave and house to be visual once more from Heather Leigh Recreation Ground.

“The grave will be surrounded by an aesthetically pleasing shrine structure (subject to the relevant permissions of course) to include some of Jake’s more memorable possessions.

“Should the funds allow, I also intend to obtain the necessary permissions allowing the rebuild and restoration of the existing cottage back to its original former glory.

“Should a developer purchase this plot, it is inevitable that the entire plot will be cleared, with the cottage bulldozed to the ground.

“Jake was an avid atheist preacher and would turn in his grave at the thought of being buried within any religious grounds as an alternative. I plead with the public of Huddersfield to generously give as much or as little as they can, so that collectively as a community we can honour the wishes of our unique late friend.”

The page, set up by Gary Baxter, has a £150,000 fundraising target.

Yorkshire eccentric Jake Mangle-Wurzel's derelict cottage up for sale - with his remains buried in the grounds