For 20 years Tom Leppard, whose entire body is covered in leopard-spot tattooes, lived in a ruined bothy on the Scottish island of Skye under a roof made from pieces of plastic sheeting.

He had no electricity, no furniture and had to canoe three miles for his weekly shopping.

Now at 73, the hardy eccentric who until recently held the record as the world's most tattooed man, has recently moved into a one-bedroom terraced home in Broadford, on Skye.

Relaxing in his comfy new leather sofa, the Leopard pensioner said: “It’s certainly very strange being surrounded by four walls and a roof but I’ll get used to it.

“I’m getting bits of furniture together all the time and I’m getting used to sleeping in a bed at night - it’s certainly more comfortable than I’m used to and electricity is very convenient."

In his crumbling previous home, perched on a remote stretch of shoreline near Kyleakin, the former special forces soldier cooked on a gas stove and slept on a bed made from blocks of polystyrene and foam.

He added: “I learned to live so simply over there that I really don’t need much in the house - I would cook a curry on my stove and that would last me for days.

“I’m certainly not going to do much cooking because I live in a house - I’ll just get what I need from the shop. I was perfectly happy in the bothy but I’m like everyone else - I’m getting too old for that kind of life.

“I had to canoe to Kyle once a week for shopping and it was getting too hard for me - I was one big wave away from disaster. It's a pretty nasty stretch of water. About six weeks ago a friend with a boat offered to take me off and I just decided there and then to go. I packed what kit I could into black bin liners and that was it. I’ve just accepted that I couldn’t carry on living like that anymore."

However, he has no intention of adapting to all of the outside world's charms. “I’ve never had a TV or radio and I’m not going to start now - it’s all rubbish anyway. A newspaper was my only reading material in the bothy so I’ll stick with that.”

London-born Tom, whose crown as the world’s most tattoed man has been claimed by Australian Lucky Diamond Rich, insists he has no regrets about his hermit lifestyle.

He added: “I’ve loved every minute and when you’re covered in leopard tattoes you certainly get noticed. All I want now is peace and quiet and just to relax a bit more. I can walk to the local shop instead of canoeing.

“I’m still pretty fit so I can walk wherever I want. I came to Scotland as a young man on holiday and as soon as I saw the mountains I knew I could never go back to England.

“I have fallen in love with the place and when I had to give up the bothy it never even came into my head to leave Skye.

“I might go back to the bothy one day for a look around if somebody offered me a lift but it would be just out of curiosity - those days are behind me now.”

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