Family has lived in middle of roundabout for 40 years after refusing to leave home

Living smack bang in the middle of a roundabout might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Clwyd Howatson and his family wouldn’t have it any other way.

David John and Eirian Howatson moved into the bungalow back in 1960 and plans for the Denbigh bypass were submitted almost twenty years later.

David and Eirian were told they weren’t allowed to build a second bungalow on the holding, but still decided to stay put.

Sadly, by the time the roundabout was completed in 1980, David had passed away, but Clwyd, his wife and son are still living in the property 42 years later.

Clwyd explained his family is on the large side - he has seven children and 12 grandchildren - so the bungalow can get a little crowded.

Revealing the two questions he’s most often asked when people hear he lives in the middle of a roundabout, he continued: “The first is always: 'how do you get to your house?' which is fairly self-explanatory with the drive at the bottom.

"And the second is always: 'is it noisy?' which it isn't really - I'd say it's like living by any road but it's not that bad, we have double glazing so it's not something that bothers us and the road only gets really busy at peak times which is only a few times a day.”

The doting dad added: "Getting off the roundabout on the other hand can be a bit of a challenge. When people are on a roundabout they don't expect someone to come out of the roundabout itself so we do get a few double-takes.

"It can be a bit awkward as well if someone lets you go because someone could be coming up on the other lane, but we don't really have any issues with it, we just tend to wait until it's a bit quieter.”

Clwyd did admit that getting parcels delivered can be a kerfuffle, saying: "Normally when we give instructions it's fine, but I do end up saying: 'No, no, we're not by the roundabout - we're on it' and they always sound a bit dubious until they get here."