An engineer dubbed 'the Mole Man' spent 40 years digging tunnels under his London home. After it was abandoned, an artist transformed it into a subterranean studio.

William Lyttle outside the Mole House, left. The same house today, right.KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/AP/Ed Reeve/Adjaye Associates

• For almost 40 years, William Lyttle dug a series of interconnected tunnels under his London home.
• He was evicted in 2006 over safety concerns and the house was left abandoned.

When people think of the Mole Man, they might think of a superhero villain lurking in the subterranean depths of the Earth. But did you know there was once a real-life Londoner known as the Mole Man?

William Lyttle spent almost four decades terrifying his neighbors by building a series of tunnels that threatened to collapse his house and anything that surrounded it. After he was evicted from the property in 2006, Mole House was left abandoned until 2012, when it was sold at auction.

It was bought by British artist Sue Webster, who renovated the 2,700-square-foot house into a personal studio and award-winning home with architects Adjaye Associates.

Here's the intriguing history of London's Mole Man and what became of his home.

This story was originally published on Insider on February 12, 2020.