Builder Tim Locks (pictured), 39, sold his house and shut down his construction business to fight against ISIS - despite having no military training

A builder has sold his house and shut down his business to fight alongside a Kurdish militia group against ISIS - despite having no military training.

Tim Locks, 39, felt compelled to sell his million-pound bachelor pad and close his construction firm in August 2014 after watching news reports of the terror group's atrocities.

The former nightclub bouncer and prison officer compared killing the enemy soldiers to 'shooting rubber ducks at a fairground' and said he simply relied on 'common sense' to stay alive in war-torn Kurdistan.

He bought body armour on eBay and took a basic fire-arms training course, before stocking up on weapons, including a Glock pistol and an AK-47 rifle he bought on the black market.

Apart from several trusted friends, no-one was aware of his life-changing decision. His cover story - even to his parents - was that he was going to Turkey.

It was only after his house, which had a swimming pool and a bar, sold for an alleged six-figure sum that he broke the news to his family.

Mr Locks claimed his parents tried to convince him to stay by telling him he would be prosecuted if he attempted to return to the UK - but he was adamant in his decision.

Mr Locks, believed to be the first British civilian with no military training to fight on the front line, arrived in Iraqi Kurdistan in February last year.

He travelled to the city of Sulaymaniyah, in Iraqi Kurdistan, to join the Christian militia group called Dwekh Nawsha, which translates as 'the self-sacrificers'.

The former bouncer felt compelled to sell his million-pound bachelor pad and leave his construction firm in August 2014 after watching news reports of the terror group's atrocities

On his arrival, he was told that Isis had put a £100,000 bounty on the heads of any Westerners in the area - but dismissed the threat as 'smoke and mirrors'.

He told the Daily Mirror: 'I didn't feel anything towards the people I was killing. I had long since stopped seeing Daesh as human, so I had no empathy for them.

'I may as well have been shooting rubber ducks at the fairground.'

Mr Locks described how he tried to keep level-headed when he fought on the front line.

He recalled one instance when ISIS fighters were preparing to attack Mr Locks' position alongside the Peshemerga on the roof of a building.

With no military commander among the Kurdish defence force to give him instructions, the voluntary fighter relied on gut instinct when faced with the enemy.

Mr Locks (pictured back centre) compared killing enemy soldiers to 'shooting rubber ducks at a fairground' and said he simply relied on 'common sense' to fight in war-torn Kurdistan

After spotting one of the terrorists preparing to fire, instead of fleeing, he ran down the stairs and dove into a nearby trench.

Despite that close call, Mr Locks claimed it wasn't all action and fighting, as some of the Peshmerga fighters were 'more interested' in taking selfies.

After briefly returning to the UK, he was back to Kurdistan in November, joining IDET - a group of volunteer Western veterans - to help clear villages and fight closer to the action.

He was nearly blown up by an IED (improvised explosive device) and even sang songs when his vehicle broke down during a mortar assault.

The former builder admitted that Christmas was tough on the front line as he felt homesick, but added that the fighters put on festive hats and even posters of singer Cheryl Cole on the walls to keep morale high.

Mr Locks (third from right) bought body armour on eBay and took a basic fire-arms training course before stocking up on weapons, including a Glock gun and an AK-47 rifle he bought on the black market before he left the UK

To remind him of why he made the tough decision, Mr Locks has made a photo of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015, the screensaver on his phone.

Mr Locks returned to the UK in March this year - and was probed by authorities, although they were said to be content with his explanation for gping to Kurdistan.

He currently has nowhere to live and is penning a book called Fighting ISIS about his transformation from builder to soldier.