A RUNDOWN flat put up for sale with a £1,000 guide price has gone under the hammer for £18,000.

More than 150 people attended the auction of the two-bedroomed first-floor flat in Catchgate, Stanley, County Durham.

It was bought up by a local investor who wants to remain anonymous.

Estate agent Sarah Mains said: “There was a real frenzy when the bidding started and it went from £1,000 to £13,000 in seconds, then it slowed down a bit.”

The property was labelled Britain’s cheapest flat when it went on the market. It has no water or electricity, rubble litters the floor, the walls have huge holes and the ceilings have crumbled, leaving a corrugated iron roof to protect the rooms from the elements.

The property was left to a woman in a divorce settlement, who only realised it belonged to her after she began receiving council tax bills.