A YOUNG couple from Herefordshire were so desperate to get on the housing ladder they built their own tiny home out of recycled materials.

Christian Montez and Kyra Powell returned to the county this year after studying.

Fed up with paying rent and unable to afford a home, they decided to build a cabin, with hardly any budget, to live in as a stepping stone to owning their own house.

Mr Montez, 29, said: "The thing is in Hereford- compared to the wages- the cost of houses is quite high. A lot of people move to Hereford as they get older because it is a nice area which in turn pushes the house prices up.

"It is difficult to get onto the housing market. For a nice, small flat you are talking £120,000+.

"Each year you don't get on that, it's gone up by four to five percent. This will give us a step to save a deposit."

Mr Montez completed a masters in architecture at the University of the West of England in Bristol in May, while Miss Powell, 28, finished furniture design and make at the National School of Furniture in Oxford two years ago.

They were renting in Gloucester and then both got jobs back in the county in their chosen fields.

Their journey to completing the cabin, which is on land at Miss Powell's family farm near to Harewood End, will be shown on Channel 4 programme, George Clarke's Amazing Spaces, at 8pm tonight.

The couple started building the cabin in February using a trailer. Mr Montez then created a flat-pack panel system which they assembled over a weekend in May.

It then took a further eight and a half weeks to finish it.

Mr Montez said: "We raised money through skills exchanges and working for materials.

"The materials for the structurally insulated panels cost around £600, the windows were free and the doors were from my Nana's house. Everything else was recycled, scavenged or found. Our personal favourite was the window made from a washing machine."

They now want to spread their skills and teach others how to make tiny homes, and hopefully build two more.

Mr Montez said: "Our plan is to provide the facilities for people to come and stay, experiencing the tiny home movement first hand for themselves, learning something along the way."

Inside the cabin is a bed, kitchenette, seating area and desktop.

Mr Montez added: "It is not just a small space it is about everything which goes with that. You are doing away with consumerism and refining your life down.

"It is quite a nice thing to be able to get rid of all your stuff you have acquired over time."