UK NEWS

FLINTOFF FLATTENS A £2M HOME

BIG PLANS: Freddie and Rachael

Monday March 3,2008

By Paul Broster

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ENGLAND cricket star Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff has splashed out £2million on a new house and then promptly knocked it down.

The all-rounder – best known for his destructive technique on the pitch – bought the luxury home from football boss Mark Hughes.

Now he plans to shell out another £2million to build a £4million mansion in its place.

Blackburn Rovers manager Hughes, 44, had already got planning permission to demolish the house and erect a new two-storey property. But 2005 Ashes hero Freddie, 30 – who made a fortune from sponsorship deals after helping steer England to victory over Australia – wants a pad twice that size. He has submitted plans which include a vast leisure and games complex in the basement.

Freddie already owns four other homes around the globe – in Tenerife, Dubai, Barbados and London – but will oversee construction of the six-bedroom home in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire.

It will boast two swimming pools in the basement, a sauna, steam, snooker and pool rooms, a gym, home cinema and a bar.

All the bedrooms will be en suite, while the master bathroom will include a dressing room and seating area. The back garden is so big it could easily house a cricket ground.

The cricketer’s six-bedroom Georgian house in nearby Altrincham is on sale for just under £2million.

Preston-born Flintoff will share the home with his model wife Rachael who is due to give birth to their third child in April. The couple have a three-year-old daughter and a son who will be two this month.

A source said: “Freddie is pulling out all the stops. He hasn’t got full planning permission yet but he is confident there won’t be a problem.

“It may seem odd to buy such a big house and knock it down but Freddie wants complete control over the look of the new place.”

Several Manchester United footballers have also demolished their houses before rebuilding them.

Ryan Giggs, 34, bulldozed a property in Worsley, Greater Manchester, to build his £5million palace. Then England ace Wayne Rooney, 22, followed with his £5million mansion in Prestbury, Cheshire.