A pensioner has offered to give up his Jaguar to get his beloved 20-foot long elephant slide back after the council confiscated it from his home.

Trevor Robinson, 71, had the 8ft tall slide delivered after spotting sub-contractors preparing to remove it from a nearby leisure park in Gillingham, Kent, two months ago.

Trevor’s initial plan was to create a pond in his back garden for the slide, named Ellie, so that children in the neighbourhood could use it. Which sounds a little bit noncey, to be fair, but not the reason the council decided to take Ellie away from him.

It turned out Ellie was too heavy to carry into the back garden, so retired forklift driver Trevor assembled the slide in his driveway instead.

This resulted in multiple complaints from his neighbours, and Medway Council ended up taking the slide away after deeming it ‘unsafe’.

Trevor said:

‘I saw them taking it away [from the leisure park] and said, ‘no I will have it.’ They thought I was joking. Then he delivered it to my house for free.

‘People loved it. I wanted to let kids and their parents come round and use it and give the money to charity.’

Trevor had planned to use a crane to lift Ellie over his house to become the “crowning glory” of his collection of garden ornaments. However, before he could get the chance, one of the subcontractors came by, saying that due to neighbour complaints, the council had ordered him to take the slide away.

Trevor, who has been visiting Strand leisure park – Ellie’s former home – since he was a little boy, says that the elephant is part of his fondest memories.

Now, the self-proclaimed ‘eccentric’ says that he is willing to do anything to get Ellie back – even give up his Jaguar.

‘I think it is diabolical. All the kids loved it. If they haven’t broken it up, then I will pay to get it back. I miss it; it has been a part of my life for so long.’

‘Everyone is really upset that it is gone. I want to get it back, I don’t care what it costs. I will pay any money – I just want her back. If they let me have it back, then they can have my Jaguar.’

Blimey. Surely he could have a brand new, exact replica of Ellie built anywhere he wants for the price of a Jaguar? But I guess he wants the original from the leisure park because of its sentimental value.

Trevor doesn’t even believe it’s a safety issue, but rather, ‘jealousy’ and a dislike for the Union Jack which is painted on the side of the slide.

‘It was painted with Union Jacks on the side. There are a few neighbours who don’t like me, but all their kids were waiting to have a go on it.’

In fairness to those parents, if a self-proclaimed eccentric topless tattooed old man wanted my kids to come and play on the elephant slide on his garden, I’d probably give it a miss too. Just to be on the safe side, you know?

He’d also be liable for any accidents, which I’m not sure he’s thought about.

The slide was also quite obviously encroaching onto the pavement, and would have spat kids out onto the road. Not ideal, really.

A Medway Council spokesperson said:

‘During our annual health and safety audit of The Strand, the slide, which is now more than 30 years old, was not deemed to be safe, so we took the decision to remove it.

‘Medway Norse arranged for a subcontractor to remove the structure. Once we became aware that a resident had the slide following complaints, we arranged for it to be picked up so it could be safely disposed of, as it is an unsafe structure.’

Well, it’s their property, at the end of the day. He’d have probably got away with it if he had put Ellie in the back garden from the beginning, but alas. Unlucky, Trevor.

To watch parents confront a man with a ‘stainless steel fetish’ as a he humped a slide in the playground, click HERE.