AN entrepreneur is likely to complete a deal to buy Mother Shipton's Cave.

Doncaster-based Adrian Sayers said he would take over the 12-acre estate at Knaresborough as soon as the sale was completed with current owners, Ilex Leisure.

But he pledged there would be no Alton Towers-style maker-over.

Mother Shipton's Cave, said to be the birthplace of the country's most famous prophetess in 1488, is reputedly Britain's oldest tourist attraction.

It opened in 1630 and includes the famous petrifying well, where items are hung up and turned to stone by the qualities of the water.

The attraction also features a children's playground and woodland walks, bringing in more than 100,000 visitors a year to the market and tourist town.

Earlier, tentative moves were made by Knaresborough Town Council to kick-start a scheme to secure the estate in public ownership, in the absence of a buyer.

But former president of Knaresborough Chamber of Trade Andrew Bull believes the new deal could play a vital role in helping boost Knaresborough's tourism.

No price has been disclosed for the purchase, but Mr Sayers agreed it was well in excess of a £400,000 figure quoted earlier.

He said: "It is not going to make millions of pounds, but there is certainly scope for improvements."