'I was in massive debt, now I live in a hut and wouldn't have it any other way'

A couple who are living 'off-grid' say they 'wouldn't live any other away' and would recommend others to do the same.

Ember Smith, 35, and Steph Gabbadon, 35, had both been living nomadically in their separate vans - in the same car park - for three months before bumping into each other for the first time. Ember was previously living 'massively in debt' and wanted a better life for herself and her two children, aged 10 and 12.

Four years later, the pair have now built two tiny homes within the community in Totnes, Devon, which they made from recycled materials they collected. The mother-of-two, originally from Cheshire, says living nomadically is "a totally different world and way of life" where they have found community and family.

The couple explained how they had some friends who owned the land, and after being invited to have a look, Ember 'fell in love with the place, its beautiful ethos and ethics'.

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Ember said: "It has been a really transformative time in terms of forming me as a person. I had a real craving for the community. Our friends had bought this land with the intention of creating a community - they wanted camaraderie and a support network not based on money, but time, friendship and connection.

"The ethos is all about living with the land, so engaging in permaculture - which is working with the land and regenerating it."

The community has around 15 to 17 people living there, and everything they produce is organic. It has a 40 foot polytunnel full of vegetables, fruit and cereal crops - and at certain times of the year the community are totally self-sufficient.

After spending their first year