I make £85,000 a YEAR from my garden without lifting a finger – I was wasting money but now I’m rolling in it

A DAD is now making £85,000 a year from his garden after once tipping cash down the drain.

Steve Crum, 65, is renting out the swimming pool in his garden after years of struggling with the expensive upkeep costs of his large Cheshire Victorian family home.

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Steve pays £500 a month to heat the pool and said it was “wasted” with “no one” in his house he wasn’t getting his money’s worth.

As costs mounted, Steve looked into replacing the pool completely with bedrooms to then rent out on Airbnb.

But when he was quoted £20,000 for the work, he decided to advertise the pool on a local Facebook group.

Steve, who previously worked in IT, said: “It was maybe used to be used once a week before.

“I thought ‘hang on we have a swimming pool, what about renting the pool out?’

“I didn’t have any expectations.

“The swimming pool is busy from 8am to 9pm. It’s our main income.

“It’s a joy to see people coming and going.”

He said the pool outside his home in Warrington is fully booked from 8am to 9pm year round.

It costs £25 for a private 90 minutes one person session and £56 for a group of eight.

He said it’s a hit with people who don’t like to swim in public.

In the first few years Steve made £40,000 to £50,000 but now makes £85,000 a year.

Steve said: “It’s unbelievable.”

He finds people come to his pool who can’t or don’t want to go to a public pool for body conscious reasons.

Steve also has lots of special needs groups who are able to swim in the private environment.

Steve’s sons Nick, 39, a film producer, and Dave Crum, 37, a financial adviser, have also launched an app to capitalise on the idea.

The swimming pool is busy from 8am to 9pm. It’s our main income

Steve Crum

Swimple, launched last year, now has six active pools listed.

Nick said: “It’s very rewarding for many reasons.

“It’s a different swimming experience.

“Everyone gets to have a little bit of luxury.

“It’s usually something you only get on holiday.

“There is less and less access to swimming. We’re trying to combat that.”

Steve said: “When I started it just thought about the money.

“I had no idea what lovely people you get.

“It’s really rewarding. People get so much out of the swimming pool.

“We want to get more people swimming.

“We want to get more access to pools around the UK.

“Pools are cost sucking. They have a tendency to de-value properties.”

The biggest open air freshwater swimming pool in the UK has reopened

ONE of the UK’s best-loved outdoor pools has reopened to the public earlier this month after being closed for more than a year.

With winter on its way out and the warmer months just around the corner, outdoor swimming will once again be on the cards for plenty of Brits.

And one place they can do that once again is Tooting Bec lido in London, which has been reopened this month after £3.8million worth of investment.

The pool was originally due to be closed for nine months for important refurbishment works to be carried out on its pumps, filters, pipes and liner.

However, that was delayed after asbestos was found at the lido, causing work to fall behind.

After a soft members-only relaunch during the winter, the pool was finally opened to the general public once again at the start of this month.

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk