WHEN Simon Coomer wants to nip out for a while he simply climbs out of the window.

Inside his home in a former signal box is a bed, space for a bike, a make-shift shower, fireplace, wardrobe and a sofa. It is all Mr Coomer, 37, wants.

But tomorrow he may be told to leave it by a judge at Newport county court.

The signal box's owner, Newport solicitor Robert Davies, says he reluctantly issued the eviction notice on Mr Coomer after the planning authority threatened to serve enforcement proceedings following complaints by residents.

But the signal box is the only home Mr Coomer has known since he was 17 and left Risca to travel.

On his return to Britain he slept rough and managed as best he could - but two years ago moved into the former signal box at Old Troy Station, near Mitchel Troy.

He transformed the derelict brick shell, which had been used by squatters, into a comfortable residence.

He says: "There was no roof, chimney, anything.

"I transformed this area. There used to be smashed bottles - people couldn't take their dogs for walks because it was full of unsightly rubbish. I have looked after the area, picking up thousands of bits of rubbish, and kept away unwanted dossers."

He has collected furniture from skips.

"I have installed new windows, which cost me £60, felted the roof and planted flowers. It's my home," he says.

Monmouthshire county council want Mr Coomer evicted, saying the signal box is not fit for human habitation because it does not have running water or a toilet. Mr Coomer says he uses public lavatories nearby.

Mr Coomer says: "They are telling me that I am trespassing on the land - which I am not - and if the signal box is unfit under human regulations, how can sitting on a park bench while the winter freezes you to the bones be fit for humans?"

Mr Coomer has been issued with a trespassing notice by the owner, together with a £360 eviction fee, and has been asked to attend Newport county court tomorrow.