A COUPLE were dubbed the "Welsh Flintstones" after returning from a Spanish holiday as the proud owners of eight CAVES - but their transformation is incredible. Paula and Spence, from Griffithstown, spent £17,000 buying the derelict holes, and after years of work, turned them into their dream rustic home. Retired police officer Paula and health and safety manager Spence were holidaying in Galera, two and half hours from Malaga when they stumbled on the empty holes during a walk. "When we came here we never thought we were ever going to buy somewhere as a holiday home, it wasn't on our plans at all," Paula told Wales Online . "But having come here and fallen in love with the area, just the quirkiness of a cave seemed something a bit different." The pair - inexperienced with renovations - spent £17,000 purchasing the caves but did not account for a lack of planning permission or the restrictions posed by the cave's ancient structure. Mud floors, crumbling walls, and the need to dig further into the rock didn't deter the adventurous couple. "Just call us Fred and Wilma," joked Spence. However, for two and half years the couple battled with multiple obstacles, which were all closely followed on the TV show My Dream Derelict Home in the Sun. Firstly, the pandemic struck only weeks after they bought the caves and they had to manage renovations from abroad. Then the Welsh couple discovered they wouldn't be able to build a front extension to help with ventilation and light due to local planning laws. They also needed permission to dig deeper into the caves to create space for their new holiday home, which they hoped would cost £34,400. Taking it in their stride, they adapted their plans and in January 2021, they received permission to begin the dig, which took far longer than expected due to the hard rock. Over budget and behind schedule, the pair ploughed on and managed to find a loophole that allowed them to build their front extension after all by proving the caves were once lived in. In May 2022, the couple finally completed their cave dwelling complete with a surprisingly light and open kitchen, breakfast bar, sitting room, master bedroom and even a spare guest bedroom. It also has an incredible outdoor area with a BBQ and bar and a prime spot to soak up the rays on sunbeds. Paula and Spence loved their new home so much that they decided to get rid of their Welsh property to spend more time in Spain. The show's TV presenter, Scarlett Douglas, was forced to admit she had been wrong about the home being too dark and dingy and congratulated the new home owners on their work. In total, the pair spent £85,000 on their unique house after the set-backs and having to get almost everything bespoke owing to the strange shape of the caves. But they love their new unorthodox home. "It's not a conventional home, it's so different," said a smiling Paula. Spence added: "You've got to be flexible, you've got to work with the mountain, the mountain is the boss. "We never thought we'd have a holiday home abroad, we thought we'd never be able to afford one, until we stumbled across some holes in the mountain, and the rest is history." It comes after a young couple who couldn't afford a home decided to invest in a cave in France . Over 12 months, Alexia Lamoreux and Lotte van Riel laboured inside their £1 home to make it liveable, and the total renovations only came to £30,000. Meanwhile, a homeless man carved a cave out of a cliff and now has incredible sea views. Nissim Kahlon, 77, created a remarkable structure filled with tunnels, mosaics, and winding staircases out of beachside sandstone cliffs in Israel .