After a hard day in the saddle, motorbiking across rough terrain, I thought it would be fantastic to relax in a hot spa and soak away my aches and pains.

I got a good deal on one and paid £9,000 instead of £11,000. It’s a six-seater with coloured lights and a 10-stack CD system.

I had it installed on my patio but I hardly ever use it because it’s usually either raining or freezing cold, or both. It’s not cheap to run either.

The model I’ve got is made of beech that contracts and expands and the panels keep popping out. The chap who sold it to me said he’d get me some new panels but that was two years ago and I’ve given up chasing him.

I also get fed up with checking the chlorine levels and topping up the water, which you’re supposed to do regularly, otherwise it ends up full of algae, like mine does all the time.

I’ve only used it three times this year and wish I’d never set eyes on it.

Carl Fogarty, four-time world superbike champion, will be signing copies of his new DVD, Phileas Foggy’s New Zealand Adventure, at the NEC Bike Show (0870 352 2006), Birmingham, on November 2 and 3. The show runs from October 27 to November 5