Colin Furze, who lives in Stamford, Lincolnshire, only submitted a planning application for the tunnel to South Kesteven District Council in April – although he began digging in November 2018.

The project was initially a secret, but he posted his first YouTube video to announce the development in June 2021.

Described in his own words as having a “constant disregard for health and safety”, Mr Furze has documented his progress on YouTube in a series called “digging a secret tunnel” which consists of nine parts so far.

The film-maker wrote on YouTube that he plans to use the tunnel to connect his workshop to his house and to an underground bunker that he created in 2016.

Mr Furze told the BBC that he created the tunnel because he thought “it would be cool”.

In his videos, he can be seen digging the tunnel by hand using primitive tools, with his most successful video of the series gaining almost 10 million views.

Documents on the South Kesteven District Council website confirm permission for the project was granted on June 10 and work must be completed within three years.

The BBC reported that the structure lies 1.2m (4ft) beneath the surface.

Mr Furze told BBC News that there would have been a “bit of an argument” with the council if his planning permission had been denied, and that filling it in would have been “carnage”.

He said: “I suppose we would have had a bit of an argument because you know, I didn’t want to fill it in and you can’t really get rid of it because I mean, if anyone’s seen the videos online, it’s steel, concrete, taking it out would cause more carnage than actually building it.

“I’ll tell you what, I thought I’d get three videos out of it maximum, just digging and building a tunnel.

“It’s nine videos now and people still want more, it is the one project I’ve done where they just can’t get enough of it.”

He added: “It’s been one of the best YouTube projects I’ve ever done.”

His previous creations include a “briefcase fireplace”, a 9.5m high giant swing, and a jet powered vacuum cleaner.

Mr Furze’s bunker won the workshop/studio category in the 2020 Cuprinol Shed of the Year contest.