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Hidden within the beautiful Sussex countryside sits an extraordinary and rather unexpected sight: a vast mansion that, had it ever been finished, would have rivalled some of Britain's royal residences.

Rumoured to be even larger than Buckingham Palace, the property has been under construction for decades but now stands crumbling – much to the dismay of some locals.

Hamilton Palace, despite being an incomplete ruin, remains a striking landmark. Work on the enormous and ornate estate began back in 1985, commissioned by controversial business magnate and multi-millionaire Nicholas Van Hoogstraten.

The businessman, who came from a working-class Sussex background, became a millionaire at just 22. At his peak, he was reported to be worth up to £800 million, though recent estimates put his family's wealth at £25 million.

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Van Hoogstraten's property portfolio stretched well beyond the grand mansion he chose to build in the mid-1980s, nestled in the picturesque woodland near Uckfield, East Sussex. At one point, he owned vast chunks of the county and claimed to be largely mortgage-free.

The business mogul has frequently dominated headlines with his outspoken remarks in defence of his commercial interests, while becoming embroiled in numerous scandals and controversies. During the 1960s, he faced repeated accusations of being a slumlord due to the appalling conditions his tenants endured and the allegedly aggressive methods used during evictions.

In 1968, he was jailed for paying a gang to throw a grenade into the Brighton house of Rabbi Bernard Braunstein, whose son owed him a debt. Speaking to the Express last year, the tycoon claimed: "Some gangsters from London used to come down here to Hove regularly. They wanted to try and impress me and, on the basis they were doing me a favour, lobbed a hand grenade into [Braunstein's] house."

In 2002, he stood accused of murdering business rival Mohammed Raja, who was stabbed five times before being shot dead outside his South London residence. An Old Bailey jury cleared van Hoogstraten of murder but convicted him of manslaughter. He was later found not guilty of that offence following a retrial. Mr Raja's family subsequently lodged a £6million civil claim against the landlord and, in December 2005, the High Court found he should be held responsible for the killing.

Robert Knapp, the hitman hired by the notorious property tycoon, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years in 2002 after being found guilty of murdering Raja. Mr Justice Lightman ruled that, on the balance of probability, van Hoogstraten was involved in the death. It was claimed in the High Court that van Hoogstraten was a psychopath who arranged for the "assassination". Now known as Nicholas Adolf Von Hessen, he was neither present nor legally represented during the hearing.

Alongside Knapp, Davd Croke was also sentenced for murder. Croke has since died, found in his cell at HMP Whitemoor just five years after his conviction. Last year, Knapp's murder conviction was referred to the Court of Appeal as "unsafe" because the jury should have been given the option of an alternative verdict of manslaughter.

During his period of legal trouble, van Hoogstraten said that finishing work on the vast estate, believed to be valued at £40 million, was not a "top priority". Local residents have expressed considerable dissatisfaction with Hamilton Palace's deteriorating condition, but van Hoogstraten dismissed their grievances about the property being in decay and "crumbling" with construction at a standstill by branding them "peasants".

"Even the most moronic of peasants would be able to see... that we have been busy landscaping the grounds of the palace so as to prepare for scheduled works," he said in 2016. Hamilton Palace has never been occupied - and van Hoogstraten is now believed to be based in Zimbabwe, rarely spending time in Britain. He's reported to have been a close associate of Robert Mugabe before the ex-leader passed away in 2019, and is said to have purchased an estate in the country when he was only 19.

A local resident branded the unfinished mansion the "biggest slum in Britain" while another called it the "ghost house of Sussex", with some neighbours raising concerns that the building is a "death trap" which encourages antisocial behaviour in the vicinity.

"The site is not secure. Fencing is always being ripped down and youths get onto the land and head to the house. The place has become a magnet for kids with nothing better to do. 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," one resident told the Manchester Evening News.

Another neighbour claimed the council was "scared" of the property magnate. "'I feel the council have bent over backwards for this man because they are a little bit scared of him and his wealth," they told the Daily Mail.

Wealden District Council has previously said: "Hamilton Palace is not located in a densely populated area. The closest public right of way is situated to the very east of the estate, divided from the main building on site by several field parcels and blocks of woodland.

"However, if there are concerns about a dangerous structure, this can be reported to the Council and we will investigate further. With regard to anti-social and or unlawful behaviour, this is a police enforcement matter."