Only Fools And Horses star Boycie tries to get children’s home shut down after youngsters broke into his mansion while he was on holiday in Hawaii

He’s best known as the sneering second-hand car dealer from Only Fools and Horses who thinks ‘anyone with a Pound less than him is a peasant’.

Now sitcom star John Challis could be accused of living up to his snobby Boycie character – after he tried to force a nearby children’s home to close because two youngsters pinched a bottle of whisky.

Mr Challis – who also stars in spin-off sitcom The Green Green Grass – lives just 60 yards from Mill House Care Home.

The out-spoken actor has campaigned for the centre, which cares for troubled youngsters, to shut after his Grade I listed mansion was broken into by two teenagers.

Sitcom star: John Challis at his home Wigmore Abbey in Herefordshire. Challis has tried to force a nearby children’s home to close after two youngsters pinched a bottle of whisky from his home

The thieves broke into Wigmore Abbey in the picturesque village of Adforton, Herefordshire, in February while the actor was on holiday in Hawaii with his glamorous wife Carol, 63.

The thieves made off with an expensive bottle of malt whisky during the raid.

In the spin-off, which ran for four series, follows the flashy wheeler-dealer Boycie as he takes to the country with his wife Marlene after being forced to flee Peckham.

At a meeting to discuss closing the care home, which is run by Keys Childcare, Mr Challis said the centre was in the ‘wrong place.’

He expressed his concerns at a meeting with the motion: ‘Keys Childcare should accept that they have been required to look for another property in a more suitable setting.’

Too close for comfort? The home of John Challis, Wigmore Abbey, Herefordshire, on the right and the Mill House Care Home on the left

Peckham’s biggest snob is on the right, with Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney, Sir David Jason as Del, Tessa Peake-Jones as Raquel when the got back together to film a new episode in 2002

In fiction as in life: Boycie starred in a spin-off series in which he moved to the country with his wife, Marlene, after being forced to flee from Peckham

Mr Challis, 69, said: ‘To be told by the company [Keys Childcare], after this latest incident when two of the boys got out and broke into the house on two separate occasions, that the home did not feel their staff had been negligent, I find unbelievable.

‘They had broken in and stolen some malt whisky. The strength of feeling is very strong. We have been going through this for 10 years.

‘The community have had enough, this was the last straw. I understand the need to look after unfortunate young people.

‘It is a very difficult job but this is totally in the wrong place.’

The public meeting also heard that the care home has cost West Mercia Police over £200,000 in the last seven years.

Mr Challis was not at home today but his wife Carol, 63, told how the break-in had left the couple ‘anxious and fretful’.

She added that their ‘rural idyll has been left shattered.’

She said: ‘We’ve had the children’s home her for ten years but two years ago new people took over and they didn’t know what a mess they were inheriting.

‘There have been 19 police call outs to the home since January. The sight of police cars chasing these runaways around is now a regular occurrence.

‘The break-in has left us anxious and fretful every time we go to town. We’ve been called names and suffered verbal abuse by the youngsters.

‘They watch us when we drive in and out. We’ve been here for 14 years and since these problems our rural idyll has been left shattered.’

In the last six months, 19 of the 26 crimes in Adforton concerned the care home – including nine calls about missing children.

Inspector Nick Semper, of West Mercia Police, said: ‘These nine episodes in 2012 have cost £22,500.

‘There have been 72 missing persons reports since 2005 costing £180,000. We need to recognise that an inappropriate placing of young people fails everyone.

‘The home has existed for more than 10 years, and it is fair to say that it has caused a large impact on local policing over that time.

‘The point has been reached where local residents state that it has become intolerable.’

A proposal that owners Keys Childcare relocate the centre was voted for unanimously by members of the public at the meeting.

The company, which has run the home since March 2011, was given a month to respond.

Emma Beech, divisional director for Keys Childcare, said: ‘The young man who was seen to be instigating that incident was not dealt with by the courts.

‘He did not return to the property following that incident. We endeavoured to compensate Mr and Mrs Challis in whatever way we could.

‘The incident in February was the first time I was aware with problems with the community. It was us that noticed the burglar alarm had gone off and we called the police.

‘The two young people had slipped through the front door. This is a home environment when they get out there is no “escape”.’

The home only houses three young people described as ‘extremely vulnerable’ by Keys Childcare but according to the company they don’t require secure accommodation.

Wendy Chambers, chief operating officer from Keys, said: ‘Setting this issue into context, there are only three children in the home and their behaviour is similar to other teenagers.

‘We are always happy to respond to concerns and help reassure neighbours we take their worries seriously.’