Hamilton Palace is owned by millionaire Nicholas van Hoogstraten, a former friend of Robert Mugabe (Picture: Getty Images Europe)
A millionaire has come under fire for leaving his massive mansion to rot and fall apart.
Nicholas van Hoogstraten, a controversial British businessman who’s served time in prison and a former associate of late Zimbabwean tyrant Robert Mugabe, has been building Hamilton Palace in Uckfield since 1985.
However, locals have now called on the council to take action over the ruinous condition in which the millionaire, who is reported to be living at another large property in Zimbabwe, has left the estate.
Photos show the Sussex property in a dilapidated state, surrounded by rusted scaffolding and building materials left dumped and lying around on the ground.
Residents of the area also claim it’s become a magnet for drug-use and anti-social behaviour.
One person told MailOnline: ‘The place is an eyesore and a wreck and it has blighted this area for as long as I can remember.
‘But now it has started attracting youths who break into the estate to consume drugs and alcohol.
Development on the property first began in 1985 but the site has since fallen into disrepair (Picture: Getty Images Europe)
‘The building looks highly dangerous and I think it’s only a matter of time before someone is injured or worse on the estate.’
Another added: ‘The site is not secure. Fencing is always being ripped down and youths get onto the land and head to the house.
‘During the warmer months there are always youths hanging around with bottles of cider and beer smoking marijuana. The place has become a magnet for kids with nothing better to do.’
Uckfield residents have called on the council to take action with the plot an increasing magnet for anti-social behaviour and drug use (Picture: Getty Images Europe)
She also said: ‘It is high time the local authority did some checks on the property to ascertain its security and safety because youths who get in there could be killed.’
Others described the site as ‘the biggest slum in Britain – which is ironic given that is how Hoogstraten started out.’
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Hoogstraten made his name in property and loansharking before at the age of 22 he was convicted of paying for a gang to lob a grenade into the house of a Brighton rabbi over an unpaid debt.
In 2002, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter of a business rival. The verdict was overturned on appeal and he was released from prison, with a civil case in 2005 seeing him pay out £6 million to the deceased man’s family.
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