Businessman Peter Malkin is selling the country mansion where he has lived for almost 50 years.

It is also where he hid his young son from the authorities after a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife when he snatched him in France and brought him back to Kent.

It resulted in him being jailed for contempt of court for eight months after breaking a court order.

Mr Malkin said: "I did it for love and don't regret it. Oliver and I are very close and speak several times a week and I go to see him regularly in Devon."

The colourful 68-year-old has put Bridge Place on the market for offers of around £2 million, saying he has done so with a heavy heart.

He has owned the Jacobean Grade II-listed, eight-bedroom mansion since the 60s when he ran it as an upmarket country club.

The property, set in six acres of countryside and Mr Malkin, who has painstakingly restored the building, says he will be sad to leave.

He said: "Obviously I love the place and am very attached to it. But it's just me and my brother, who is staying with me for a while, so I am rattling around the house. But I will only sell it if the price is right."

But he believes the house would make a wonderful family home or a country hotel.

For many years he specialised in buying and conserving old buildings and has worked on more than 40 properties.

He said: "I have done so much work to restore its original features, including the staircase, and it's looking wonderful. The whole place is in tip-top condition.

"It would be a great wrench to leave after all this time but my son Oliver lives in Devon with his wife and they have just had my first grandson.

"I quite like the idea of buying a place down there and having one here because I still love the Canterbury area."

The house has a fascinating history. It was built by a Dutchman, Sir Arnold Braems, who became the first manager of Dover Harbour Board and renamed Bridge Place in about 1650.

The property is being marketed by Strutt and Parker in Canterbury.

Partner Simon Backhouse said: "The house has magnificent period detailing and retains a wealth of interesting features, both inside and out, and now offers great potential.

"It provides a fine canvas from which to recreate a magnificent family home."