Carnival over for George, but the shows will go on

The work, which takes up the entire double garage, consists of 15 rides including a carousel, Ferris wheel, "cake walk" and merry-go-round, as well as an organ, circus tent and even a model village.

But the 82-year-old is moving to a smaller home and cannot take the fair with him, which means enthusiasts have a one-off opportunity to buy the vast collection.

Mr Jennings spent years whittling the intricate figurines before painstakingly painting each model. The rides are fitted with miniature lights, their own battery-powered motors and speakers wired up to a cassette deck playing fairground music.

The entire set is on a 1:24 scale. Each ride, measuring on average 18in high and 24in across, took George a minimum of two months to make and the entire project cost around 8,000.

But the retired coach business and hotel owner said he had not put a price tag on his masterpiece and just hoped it would go to a good home.

Mr Jennings, from Stretham, Cambridgeshire, said: "I'll sell it for all I can get, but the most important thing is that the buyer cherishes it.

"I am a pensioner and there's a credit crunch on so I could do with an extra bob or two. I will be sad to let it go. The fair has been my obsession for the last 20 years and has taken over my life and my garage.''

Mr Jennings began building the funfair as a hobby to keep himself occupied when he retired.

"I love funfairs so I started building from scratch using tools," he said. "I thought, 'I cannot have a real fairground, so I will make my own'. It's almost as good as the real thing. It's a been a labour of love from start to finish."

The most expensive and time-consuming item was the miniature carousel with its brightly painted horses galloping three in a row, for which he had to enlist professional help to make.

He said: "The carousel alone cost just under 2,000. I had all the little horses specially modelled and hand-painted because they were so delicate, and the materials were not cheap.''

Mr Jennings dismantled and rebuilt the entire wooden funfair when he and his wife Hilda, 80, moved to Stretham from the Isle of Man four years ago.

But the couple are now planning to move into a smaller retirement home and have to sell.

He said: "If I had grandchildren, it would be a wonderful thing for them to play with, but there is nothing more for me to do with it now.

"I may start on another project once the move is complete, and in the meantime my wife has bought me a Labrador to keep me entertained.''