Garden shed built in the style of a church in Oldbury

Derek Rose built the shed himself installing distinctive stained glass windows and even an arch door in a gothic style.

The 50-year-old, of Moat Road, Oldbury, who works as a metalwork teacher, described the shed as his bolt-hole, workshop and playroom, with the interior decked out with all manner of heavy duty tools and storage shelves and drawers.

Derek's eye-catching creation is one of nearly 2,000 entries from all around the country in this year's Shed of the Year competition, which is sponsored by Cuprinol woodcare.

The firm is running the competition on-line until May 3.

"I built the shed entirely myself, including the door, window frames and the stained glass," said Derek.

"It is a great place to work in the winter evenings with the wood burner, candles and fairy lights.

"I built an annexe a couple of years back but that was quickly taken over by kids' toys and bikes.

"The shed remains mine and my main regret was that I did not make it bigger."

Mr Rose said he was presently building a model steam engine in the shed and enjoyed spending hours in there.

Foundations

The father-of-two said his 11-year-old son also liked "mucking about" in the shed.

He said a friend had helped him to lay the base and the foundations and he had originally planned for the roof to have been constructed by tiles.

"Unfortunately I ran out of good weather so put a felt shingle roof on.

"I saved a lot by making the window and door frames myself.

"The original sketches were of a castle, complete with a drawbridge to ride a motorbike into it but everyone told me to tone it down.

Mr Rose said he had entered his shed into the competition after finding the website while "looking for inspiration".

"I decided to enter it as it was something a little different," he said.

"I noticed a lot of the sheds had been turned into pubs. This is something I have never been tempted to do if I am honest.

"Mine is a workshop and it is a means to that end. I really hope that people like the design."

Mr Rose said the shed had taken a lot of work to create but had been well worth it.

"I am really pleased with the way it looks."

The shed has so far received more than 2,100 views on the website. People can see it for themselves by logging on to www.readersheds.co.uk

Other sheds to have been entered into the competition by their owners include 257 in the style of a pub, 20 in the shape of Doctor Who's Tardis, and one inspired by HMS Victory.

Meanwhile, an HMS Victory designed shed has been created by Clare Kapma, from Abertillery, in South Wales, and featuresa top deck, rigging and even hammocks inside.

Spokesman for Cuprinol Kathryn Ledson said: "It is clear that sheds are vital to the British identity and that they are an inspiration to so many of us."

A survey run by the firm found the typical shed owner spends more than a year of their life in their shed.

And 12 per cent preferred the shed to spending time with their family.