CHAIRMAN of East Northants Council Clive Wood had hordes of journalists visit his home in Washbrook Road, Rushden, yesterday.

Television cameras whirred and reporters from all the county's newspapers descended to see just what his "period" terraced house was like.

Mr Wood, a signwriter, has spent many years converting the inside, half into Georgian and half into Jacobean styles. And he threw open the doors to raise money for the Ethiopian Famine Appeal. The event raised £60.

The house was open between 10am and 7pm and after showing all his visitors around an exhausted Mr Wood said: "I've enjoyed doing it, and found it very tiring. I'm rather pleased I don't have to do this every day of the year.

"It was a bit of an experiment, I haven't raised the £100 I hoped to, but all in all it went very well. People certainly were interested in what I had to show them."

Notes on converting this house into Wentworth Cottage are in the article Clive wrote in 2009 - 'One Man's Castle' - building The Vyne.