It is a brave man who attempts anything unusual with his back garden in these days of rampant nimbyism, when a too-tall leylandii can result in a court summons.

But when Andy Robertshaw dug a first world war trench in land at the back of his Surrey house – complete with latrine – his neighbours passed over cups of tea rather than issuing a writ.

Robertshaw, a former history teacher turned military historian who was a consultant on Steven Spielberg's film War Horse, admits he did not tell next-door that he was recreating the Great War in their vicinity until work was well under way.

But he insists there have been no complaints thus far. "It's not as if it's going to become a tourist attraction or anything," he said on Thursday.

He plans to hold an open day over Easter next year, but claims the purpose of building the 60ft trench was primarily to understand what soldiers went through between 1914 and 1918.

So far Robertshaw has staged two sleepovers in the trench, which boasts a dugout where a military office has been recreated, along with a kitchen. Intrepid guests have dressed up in period costume, including itchy woollen underwear and tin helmets, and have been given real first world war rifles to play with during re-enactments. The "worst soldier" has been made to empty the antique latrine bucket.

Robertshaw is keen to make the experience as authentic as possible, but admits that modern life does sometimes intrude, largely thanks to Gatwick airport, which is just two miles down the road from his house in Charlwood. "Our biggest problem is noise pollution. It's hard to pretend you're in the Great War when a jumbo jet goes thundering overhead," he said. He has had to make certain concessions to modernity, notably in the form of sanitising hand gel and the risk assessment he filled in to comply with health and safety.

He will record his findings in his upcoming book, 24 Hours in Battle, which is set in April 1918 and will be released next year. He has already written one book about first world war life, 24 Hour Trench, which imagined life in a trench in 1917.