Flat with picturesque river view sells for just £1 because it is impossible to access and has never been occupied

‘There is limited information and we have not, at this stage, gained access’, auction house listing says

A flat in the centre with stunning riverside views in the centre of a Cambridgeshire town has been sold for £1 at auction. But there's a catch: the property has no entrance and no one knows what’s inside.

The one-room, 129sq ft home has bridges an alleyway between a Chinese takeaway and an insurance firm in Wisbech, near Ely.

It has no external doors and there is no formal access route into the flat – which boasts a window overlooking the river Nene - from either neighbouring business. There is also no record of anyone having lived at the address or used it for any other purpose

Despite that, the mysterious 16^th century property sold at auction after a local businessman lodged a last-minute £1 bid.

The guide price for the flat, sold off by Fenland District Council as one of a number of “surplus properties”, had been £100.

The auction details state: "This is an opportunity to acquire a flying freehold which extends over part of a vehicular access passageway and comprises a single, currently inaccessible room, measuring approximately 12 sq m.

"There is limited information and we have not, at this stage, gained access."

Despite being won at such a low price, the buyer is likely to have to stump up additional fees that take to total cost to about £1,000.

Auctions partner Victoria Reek described the curious property as "certainly one of the weirdest ones we've had at auction", and admitted it was "probably just full of cobwebs".