AN OLD stone barn with a hole in the roof fetched a record £250,000 at auction this week.

The two-storey barn at Heaning Hall, Thoralby, Wensleydale, was sold, with planning permission for a five-bedroomed house, in an auction held jointly between George F White and Hawes Auction Mart at the mart on Tuesday afternoon.

Two parcels of land at Faw Head in the Yorkshire Dales National Park also went for double the published guide price.

The two lots of land were a mile from Hawes and described as giving buyers an opportunity to own a "picture postcard" slice of Wensleydale. Both were ideal for grazing livestock or horses and the first had a guide price of £20,000, but actually sold for £42,000, or £5,950 an acre. The second had a guide price of £15,000 and sold for £31,000, or £4,020 an acre.

The three lots provoked huge interest from a national market and the saleroom itself was packed.

"It was an amazing occasion, generating a tremendous atmosphere. Everyone involved is very pleased with the outcome," said Raymond Lund, auctioneer at Hawes Mart.

Nigel Foster, a partner from George F White's Bedale office, was equally delighted. "It was an extremely successful public auction and more than justified itself as a means of creating both a good market for property and reaching a possibly larger number of buyers."

This is the second very successful sale that George F White and Hawes Auction Mart have held in the last year. As a result, they will hold a collective property auction in October, and are already taking entries.

"An auction is one of the best ways of putting a true value on any item, and these sales prove that there is still considerable interest in the market," said Mr Foster.