Budding spaceman's £250,000 home

Would-be astronaut Ben Tristem at the controls of his motor home

A businessman has invested £250,000 in the most advanced motor home on the market to boost his chances of becoming a trainee astronaut.

Ben Tristem, of Orford, Suffolk, matches most criteria for the European Space Agency training programme already but needs to prove one more thing.

He said: "I have to prove I can live in confined spaces and am comfortable with advanced technology.

"This motor home is the most advanced on the market. I'm ready for the call."

Mr Tristem's business is suited to life on the road and there are other advantages too.

"All I need for my business is an internet connection because most of what I do is counted as e-commerce," he said.

The purchase of the giant motor home, which has internal walls that can be adjusted at the touch of a button, a high-tech kitchen, satellite links and a built-in cinema, has a knock-on advantage for Mr Tristem's social life too.

"My girlfriend Lizzie lives in Cambridge but my home is near Ipswich," he said. "Neither of us fancied living in Bury St Edmunds so the motor home is ideal.

"And when the agency calls I can travel straightaway."

The space agency has already tested his reaction to fear, his emotional intelligence, endurance and response to sleep disruption.