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The mega-rich founder of Bebo is pouring millions of pounds into a dying British village because of his childhood memories of holidays there.

California-based tycoon Michael Birch said had been 'shocked and saddened' at the decline of Woolsery in North Devon where his ancestors lived since 1700.

Bebo founder Michael Birch and his wife Xochi sold the social networking platform Bebo in 2008 for $850million to AOL. They have spent millions of pounds restoring key parts of village life in Woolsery, where Mr Birch can trace his family to the 1700s

In the past two years he has bought and restored the village pub, an old hotel and the fish and chip shop.

Grateful residents have welcomed his support and compared it to 'winning the lottery'.

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Mr Birch said he felt the 'need' to restore the village, where he spent childhood summers. He was inspired to help when he returned on year and found it in the 'saddest state'

The Birches have also bought the old Manor House, pictured above. Residents of the village have welcomed his investments, with some saying it is like winning the lottery

Mr Birch, 46, said he had spent 'all his summers' in the area has a child and wanted to bring it back to life.

He said: 'I have a huge emotional connection to the village and I have fond memories of drinking in The Farmers Arms and was saddened to hear that it had closed.

'The pub had been closed for a number of years, the manor house had been closed a lot longer... it was knowing that I could do it [help] and knowing that I needed to do it.

WHO ARE WEB ENTREPRENEURS MICHAEL AND XOCHI BIRCH? 

Michael Birch, 46, is originally from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire while Xochi, 44, is from Los Angeles, California.

The pair met in a pub in London when Mrs Birch was studying abroad in Britain and married in 1994.

Together they founded Bebo in 2005, one of the first social networking sites. 

Three years on, they sold it for £550million ($850million), getting a joint share of £370million ($595million) between them.

The pair bought it for £1million 'for fun' after it went into administration in 2013.

Now based in California, the Birches have three children and currently run an exclusive members' club in San Francisco.  

'It was in the saddest state I'd seen the village in my memory.'

Mr Birch, who was born in Hertfordshire, and wife Xochi sold Bebo to AOL in March 2008 for $850million.

He now has a net worth of $390m (£303m) and in a rare interview said he felt compelled to act when he saw how dilapidated the village had become.

He said: 'I love living in America and I love coming here... it's a great escape.

'I like bringing my children here and sharing that with them.

'I have six generations of my family buried in the village church and I still have family living in the village today.'

Mr Birch met all the villagers on a visit two years ago after buying the derelict Farmers Arms pub - and bought them all a pint.

The fish and chip shop has been open for several months now and the pub, which shut in 2012 is still undergoing renovation but is hoped to open next year.

Mr and Mrs Birch have also bought the nearby Manor House inn, which has been unoccupied for eight years, and are in the process of turning it into a hotel.

Repairing both will cost more than £1million.

Job Andrew, Mr Birch's great-great grandfather, built Woolsery village shop, which remained in the family until it was sold in 1961.

Michael Birch met with the villagers of Woolsery in 2014 after he and his wife bought the local pub, the Farmers' Arms, to restore it. He said he was saddened to hear it had closed, having spent his formative years there on family holidays

Since he bought the pub, Mr Birch has also bought the fish and chip shop and an old hotel and hopes to restore the village to its former glory. He feels an emotional attachment after childhood summers spent there

His grandmother, Millicent Andrew, was born in the village shop's premises in 1900, and his grandfather Joseph Burrow was born at Ashcroft Farm.

Residents have welcomed the investment.

Peter and Sonia Hamilton who founded the Woolsery Action Group in a bid to save The Farmers Arms were among those to toast the mogul's intervention.

Mr Hamilton said: 'When we heard the news that Michael had bought the pub it was like all our Christmases had come at once.

'The closure of the village pub has had a detrimental effect on the village.'

Mrs Hamilton added: 'The pub looked awful, the manor was boarded up... with Michael coming in and renovating both buildings, it's had a feel good factor in the village.

'We are all excited to get the pub back into the heart of the community.'

The Farmers Arms in Woolsery was Mr Birch's first purchase and in a state of disrepair when he bought it. Resident Sonia Hamilton said the pub 'looked awful' but there was a feel good factor as the villagers await renovations

Mr Birch met his wife Xochi in London and they moved to California after they married in 1994. Together they founded and sold Bebo and have used part of the money to restore the village of Woolsery 

Robin Edmonds, from Woolsery parish council, said: 'It's as good as winning the lottery because there's no way that the parish council and local residents could have come together with enough money to make a go of the pub.

ORIGINAL SOCIAL NETWORK WHICH WAS CONQUERED BY FACEBOOK

Bebo was launched in 2005.

Users could upload blogs, photos, music and videos to their pages.

Bebo, alongside MySpace, was one of the contenders to Facebook in the early 2000s.

At its peak it had about 40million users.

It was sold by Michael and Xochi Birch to AOL for $850million in 2008.

Bebo was eclipsed by Facebook as well as other social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr.

AOL's reluctance to invest in the site has been blamed for its decline.

Bebo sought bankruptcy protection in 2013 and Mr Birch bought the company from its receivers for $1million. 

'His family have a long history in the village and it is great he has been able to pump so much money in.

'It will revitalise the centre of the village and provide much needed employment.

'It is great for everybody.'

Jay Oyarzabal, 38, the manager of Woolsery fish and chip shop said: 'It is amazing. We have had so much positive feedback from people since he took over.

'He has given it a complete overall with new equipment.

'It is great.'

Mr and Mrs Birch set up Bebo in 2005 with the social media website shorthand for 'Blog Early, Blog Often'.

It was a huge success and became one of the world's most popular websites with AOL buying it for $850 million three years later.

The couple made $600 million from the sale but then had to watch as the site crumbled due to poor management and the staggering growth of Facebook.

In 2013 they bought the site back for $1million 'for fun' to see if they could inject life into it.  

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