Tanks for the memory as Action Man sells £1.6m pad

The former army officer turned entrepreneur has his own shooting range and off-road track and often rides round the grounds dressed in camouflage in a military 8x8 vehicle and an anti-tank missile launcher.

Handley Cross also has two landing pads for his ex-forces Gazelle helicopter which still wears the red, white and blue RAF roundel.

"The place is full of big boys' toys," admits Mr Bates, 63, who is selling the luxury property, near Yarm, near Stockton-on- Tees, for 1.65m.

He bought the house 15 years ago for its private location and 8.5 acres of gardens and woodland that allow him to indulge in his favourite hobbies without annoying the neighbours.

The chartered mechanical engineer enjoys clay pigeon shooting and his collection of ex-military vehicles includes a Valkyr – once used by the Sultan of Brunei on big game shooting expeditions, a demonstrator Mark II tank and an amphibious border patrol vehicle which never went into production and is the only one of its kind. They have all been disabled by the MoD but the tanks have been fitted with "boom and bang" sound effects.

"Shooting and collecting guns was my main hobby until the Hungerford incident when the new gun laws came in," he said. "You were compensated for handing your guns in. I spent the money on a Ferret armoured car after going to a military vehicle show.

"Like most of the decommissioned vehicles it had seen action and needed restoring, which was a project for me and my two sons. Then I bought an anti-tank missile launcher and it went from there."

His former businesses, including a telecoms company, funded his passion for the vehicles that cost from 500 to 50,000; at one point he had 30.

"I created garages and a workshop for them at home, which was great as I'd previously had to have them on a separate site," said Mr Bates, who enjoys going for a spin out in tanks that reach speeds of 45 mph and do between half and two miles a gallon.

The downside is, of course, that not everyone realises he is "playing".

Returning from a military vehicle show on one occasion, his wife Wendy asked him to stop at Tesco.

"It was obviously difficult to find a parking space, so I drew up at the front doors while she went in for the shopping.

"The manager saw us and panicked. He thought there was a bomb scare and evacuated the store," said Mr Bates.

He has since downsized his collection to just six vehicles and is selling the house with the intention of retiring.

"I'm trying to retire and the house is just too big now our three children have left home," said Mr Bates, who often appears as a military expert on the History Channel.

The luxurious house has six bedrooms, a vast entertainment wing and a sunken picnic area in the grounds. It is also high tech with 23 telephone points and 100mb broadband.

There is also scope to resurrect the Bates' corporate events business.

"We did off-road tuition, clay pigeon shooting and team-building exercises with laser shooting.

"The women were always better than the men. They were a better shot and nine out of 10 times they won the team-building games. They listen to what they're being taught and put it into practice and they have the ability to do several things at once.

"The men just think they're Rambo, fire all their shots and end up getting clobbered."

Handley Cross, Yarm, is for sale through Strutt & Parker, Harrogate, tel: 01423 561274.

HOUSE PRICES CONTINUE FALLING

House prices have fallen for a third month in a row as demand from potential buyers continues to drop off, according to research out today.

The average price of home in Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire dropped by 0.3 per cent in September, with all other regions recording falls.

Property intelligence group Hometrack expects the situation to continue well into 2011.

The recent price falls are being driven by a drop in demand from would-be buyers.

The average time taken to sell in Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire is now 11.1 weeks – the third longest in the country behind Wales (12.6 weeks) and the North West and east Midlands (11.6 weeks).

The average price of a house in Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire is 114,200, against a national average of 157,600, and less than half the Greater London average of 283,000.