A LAW firm has helped secure the sale of the former cave home of a famous prophet who is said to have predicted the end of the world.

Business law firm DWF advised entrepreneur Francis Martin about the purchase of Mother Shipton’s Cave, in North Yorkshire, which attracts 65,000 visitors a year.

The cave, in Knaresborough, was put up for sale last year at £1.5m – only the fourth time in its 400-year history that it has been sold, after previous owners Adrian and Liz Sayers decided to retire.

DWF corporate partner Lester Wilson, who led the team, which also included solicitors Susie Barrett and Helen Flowers, said: “Mother Shipton’s Cave is a truly unique local attraction with a rich and fascinating history. This deal should ensure that the attraction remains a magnet for tourists visiting Knaresborough and North Yorkshire for many years.”

The deal, completed last week, was the latest success for DWF, whose corporate team carried out deals worth £515m in the first quarter of the year.

The team was also ranked joint fourth in the UK in terms of the number of deals for the same period, according to global information services company Experian.

It is one of the North’s biggest law firms, employing more than 1,300 people in six offices, including in Newcastle.

The 12-acre cave site is claimed to be the oldest tourist attraction in England and includes a riverside and woodland walk, a museum of artefacts, a tea room, gift shop, wishing well, two adventure playgrounds, three-bedroomed caretaker’s accommodation and timber buildings for staff accommodation.

The cave was said to be the home of the legendary 15th Century prophet.

During the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, she allegedly predicted the attack by the Spanish Armada, the Great Fire of London and the Great Plague in 1665.

Some believe she foresaw telephones and submarines, as well as the end of the world.

The popular tourist site, once part-owned by magician Paul Daniels, is also known for its rare Petrifying Well, noted for having such an unusually high mineral content in its water that objects placed underneath gradually turn to stone.

The cave is thought to be the only one of its kind in the UK.