David Cameron buys £25,000 garden shed 'to write in'

David Cameron says he plans to write a book in a designer garden shed that has been installed at his family home.

The shepherd's hut, thought to have cost the former prime minister £25,000, includes a wood-burning stove, sofa bed and sheep's wool insulation.

Mr Cameron admitted his wife Samantha made all the design decisions about the hut, in which he plans to write his memoirs.

His children have other ideas, however - they want to use it as a playroom.

The former Conservative party leader said there had been "a bit of a fight" over the use of the shed, painted in muted shades called Clunch, Mouse's Back and Old White.

"My children want to use it as a Wendy house," he said. "I want to use it as a book-writing room and my son wants it as an alternative bedroom. So, quite a lot of competition.

"When it first arrived, there was great excitement - who was going to spend the first night in it?"

The humble shed has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, with people choosing to build an extra room in their garden - often in spectacular style.

Owners choose to use them as offices, pubs and even nightclubs.

Some of the very best have been featured on Channel 4's Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year competition, which was last year won by a building made from 90% recycled material and featuring a hidden room behind a bookcase.

Previous contenders for the title have also included a shed replica of the Millennium Falcon.

Another David who is enthusiastic about sheds is David Sproule from St Albans, Hertfordshire, who joked about the former PM's hut: "His shed is nothing compared to mine - he's just starting out in the world of sheds."

He had a recording studio and music room installed in his garden last year, which he christened 'The Shedio'.

"The top of the garden was just nettles and brambles - dead space," said Mr Sproule, who plays in a rock band.

He admits his "four or five guitars - one more than my wife knows about anyway" and amplifiers used to clutter up the house and that he needed somewhere to play music.

Mr Sproule said The Shedio was "the best £6,000 I ever spent".

"I love having a shed - as long as you don't use it to keep smelly lawn mowers in, it's the perfect place to run and hide from the world," he said. "And my wife no longer has to listen to me rehearsing my music - so it's a win-win."

Mr Cameron is understood to have signed a deal late last year to write his autobiography, set to be released next year.

He is not the only one to use a hut for writing - Roald Dahl wrote his books from a shed in his garden, as did Dylan Thomas.