ASTONISHED villagers are asking if this could be the most expensive shed in Britain.

Offers of more than £30,000 will be considered for the former pub bottle store in Redmire, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire.

Estate agents Charltons say the 130sq ft storeroom, which comes with its own parking area, "has valuable storage accommodation" and is "well positioned in the heart of this unspoilt village, with beautiful open Wensleydale countryside on the doorstep".

But villager Nick Drabble, 31, who lives opposite the building, was among those amazed by the asking price.

"It's a very expensive shed," he said. "What are you going to keep in it - a very expensive lawnmower?"

Another Redmire resident Sarah Weatherald, 34, described the asking price as absolutely ridiculous.

"I think they've just put it up for sale to test the market," she said. "Property prices in Wensleydale are very high.

"We sold a two-bedroom terrace in Redmire for £57,000 in 1997 and last year it went back on the market for £145,000."

Other properties selling for unprecedented amounts across the North-East and North Yorkshire have also caused gasps of amazement.

Last month, an 18ft by 9ft garage in York sold for more than £30,000, after parking restrictions introduced by the city council meant an increase in demand for parking spaces.

Both buyer and seller were said to be very happy when seven acres of land and a ruined stone barn near Hawes, in Wensleydale, went for more than double the £20,000 asking price recently.

And last week, the ten foot square Leech House, which stands on the banks of Bedale Beck, in Aiskew, North Yorkshire, sold for more than £22,000.

The 18th Century Grade II-listed building was built for a doctor to house leeches to clean infected wounds.

The former bottle store in Redmire was put on the market by the owners of the now closed King's Arms pub.

The pub shut last year, despite more than 200 angry residents - including the landlord of the village's other pub - signing a petition against the closure.

Councillors have twice rejected an application to turn the pub into a house.