Millionaire in row after felling private woodland for car collection (2025)

A supermarket tycoon millionaire who flew his personal helicopter too close to Britain's busiest airport is embroiled in a fresh row after digging up private woodland to prevent damage to his collection of luxury cars.

Businessman Christopher Kiley, 71, of Caswell, near Swansea, has been in a series of scrapes with officials over his love of his 'playboy toys' which include a helicopter, motorbikes, horses and cars.

He made headlines for causing hours of disruption at Heathrow in 2015 after flying his helicopter through its airspace because he was late for a manor lunch - just eight miles away from the air park where it is kept.

Now Mr Kiley has been ordered to stop digging out a bank near his mansion for his cars following fears he could damage the roots of trees in protected areas in the beauty spot.

The owner of Welsh chain CK's Supermarkets has now been reported to the council for digging on the private woodland before claiming it was to stop stones falling and damaging cars below.

Mr Kiley bought his £2.5million home with former wife Alice, then 32, a former Miss Great Britain entrant who appeared on the TV cooking contest MasterChef in 2013.

He then planned to give it a Grand Designs-style modern makeover but was refused by planners. The pair later split.

Swansea Council visited the site following complaints and are set to carry out further investigations to assess any damage.

A spokesman for the council said: 'Further site visits are planned in relation to possible breaches of planning controls.'

Mr Kiley said falling stones had recently caused £2,500 of damage to a parked car below and that cars and vans had previously been dented at the site.

In a letter to the council he said: 'Because of this I've got to remove the stones at the top of the bank.'

Mr Kiley added the bank presented a risk to human life as well as vehicles and that the work to remove stones was around two-thirds of the way through.

The letter said no trees had fallen and that his legal advice was that the council was responsible from this point on for damage by falling stones.

But the council rejected this claim and said: 'Mr Kiley is responsible for ensuring the safety of his land and property.'

It is the latest in a string of blunders from the founder of the CK Supermarkets who once forced air traffic controllers to halt international flights at Heathrow Airport.

He took a short cut through banned airspace - and flew as low as 300ft - because he was late for lunch at a plush manor, causing all international flights to be temporarily stopped from landing at Heathrow.

Mr Kiley apologised to magistrates for risking a serious incident when he undertook the 10-minute flight.

He was fined £1,700 and ordered to pay costs of £600 after the Civil Aviation Authority brought charges against him.

He was also fined for an aviation offence in 2011 for ignoring a ban to take off again after landing his red helicopter in an unused car park after a clutch light came on.

Mr Kiley previously fell foul of officials when he applied to build a 98-metre track through his woodland to shorten his trips to his stables in Caswell, South Wales - part of Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB designated in Britain in 1956.

Neighbours complained Mr Kiley was using the grounds as a 'racing track' for off-road bikes.

His application to fell 12 trees was rejected by the council after it found there was 'no reasonable justification or need' for the track.

Mr Kiley - who has a turnover of more than £58million at his chain of 30-plus supermarkets - was approached for a comment.

Heathrow AirportTeam GB

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