A fireman has swapped his hose for a buffalo rope.

Gary Butcher was a West Sussex fireman for 15 years but gave it all up to go back to basics and life on the South Downs just outside Brighton.

Now even Gary’s self-sufficient rural lifestyle is too hi-tech and he’s planning to train in Stone Age bushcraft techniques.

Once he is able to survive totally unaided by modern technology he plans to film a documentary about his skills.

Gary joined West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service when he was 24, but after 15 years based at Worthing, the fireman decided to seek out greener pastures.

He said: “My brother says I always wanted to be a fireman when he was little.

“But over the years the job changed so much and I’d had enough.

“I went really back to basics.

“I haven’t owned a TV for 15 years. I talk to people and read lots of books.

“It is a very different life to when I was doing the whole job and mortgage thing.

“My friends and family are jealous of the freedom I’ve got.”

Gary, 44, will begin training in Stone Age bu s h c r a f t techniques in Italy next month.

He said: “I’m getting rid of all my kit and going back totally to basic equipment like buffalo rope.

“I’m getting rid of all my clothes and learning to do everything from scratch.

“This is not going to be like Ray Mears and Bear Grylls, pictured left, using all their fancy equipment.

I’m going to be starting with nothing.”

Gary needs to raise about £8,000 for the camera equipment to help him make his film and is offering to teach people bushcraft skills in return for donations.

He added: “The skills I teach in my workshops help people to benefit from a life in harmony with the natural world.

“Bone, stone, wood and skin are the materials of our shared ancestral roots.

“The courses are a hands-on approach to education and learning, from how to light a fire using friction, to making a flint knife or clothing ourselves in a deer skin shirt.”

To donate to Gary's campaign visit www.kck.st/1eC9RnM.