A teddy bear fanatic built a shed to house his collection of 1,000 stuffed toys, ornaments and plushies.

Dennis Adelsberg, 94, began work on his shed a year ago at the age of 93.

He built "99 per cent" of it by himself - with a small helping hand installing the double-glazed window."

He used old conservatory roofing from his daughter, Gill, for the roof, built the shelves and fencing for the structure and decorated the outside with artificial flowers.

Grandad-of-five Dennis has collected die-cast collectible toy cars and planes throughout his life and has since developed an appreciation for the bears.

He now has around 1,000 - including fluffy bears, pottery bears, door stops and pictures - and estimates his collection to be worth around £3,000.

He entered his shed into the 'unexpected/unique' category for Shed of the Year 2024 but unfortunately didn't make the final shortlist.

Dennis, from Lathom, Lancashire, said: "It's entirely different - no one has one of these. "

"I just like it, I sit in there and have my dinner in there and sometimes fall asleep. "

"I've been working flat out on it alongside my garden and I'm chuffed with it. "

"I have a big tree at the back that has to come down but I thought I'd make the space."

"The garden is about 60ft long so I thought I'd put a little seat in there and it developed into a fencing area and suddenly I was making a shed."

"When I was 14, my old fella said to me, never start a job if you can't do it properly."

Dennis collects the teddies from charity shops before finding a place for them on one of his shed's busy shelves.

He said: "Somebody has put an awful lot of effort into making these [teddies] and I think they're masterpieces."

"I estimate there must be at least 1,000 teddy bears in there by now. "

"I'm a collector of die-cast so I'm always looking for more space to put things. "

"I needed more shelf space."

"I've written a book about the teddies coming to life at night with a little song to go with it for children."

"I've only collected the bears for just over two years. "

"As soon as I see them in the charity shops that's where I get them from - I've even got a King and Queen."

"It's not about what they cost for me, I see it as a hobby and I love the engineering side that someone somewhere thought of each one and made them."

"It's the detail and the skill and other people's imagination to make each one. "

"I study them all when I buy them and I'm fascinated with the engineering."

As well as the mass amount of teddy bears, Dennis' shed also has a TV unit, lighting, a heater and a brand-new blue carpet.

He said: "I went to B&M and bought some flowery arrangements to go on the outside too - It's a lovely garden, if I say so myself."