Brexit makes Englishman in Germany turn his house into Little Britain

Gary Blackburn has transformed his home with red telephone boxes, life-sized models of the Queen (and her corgis) and a tank.

An Englishman living in Germany has reacted to Brexit by transforming his home into a quirky homage to Britain, complete with red telephone boxes and life-sized models of the Queen (and her corgis) and a couple of Coldstream Guards.

Little Britain in Germany — Gary Blackburn poses at his British curiosities collection called Little Britain in Linz-Kretzhaus, south of Germany's former capital Bonn Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

"When Britain voted for Brexit I decided to make my own little Britain here in Germany," 53-year-old tree surgeon Gary Blackburn told Reuters at his home in Linz-Kretzhaus, 30km (20 miles) south of Bonn.

Blackburn, who moved to Germany from his native Lincolnshire 32 years ago, welcomes curious visitors to his 'Little Britain' exhibition, which he began assembling following Britain's decision to leave the European Union in June last year.

Not everyone is happy with Blackburn's collection, with some of his neighbours complaining to their local representative about the latest exhibit parked on his lawn – a Centurion tank. The commotion made it all the way to the Mainz state parliament, with the MP raising a question about the suitability of the exhibit.

Blackburn told Reuters the tank is a sign of peace: "I have decorated it with a lot of poppies and white doves. The poppies stand for freedom and peace in England and commemorate fallen and injured soldiers during the past two world wars," he said.

However, he is braced for war: "Two neighbours want it removed, but at the moment all is fine because the Interior Ministry recognises that the tank is demilitarised, is on private property and is not visible from the streets."

Brexit Germany