A PROPERTY set amid picturesque Oxfordshire woodland will go under the hammer at a bargain price - but there's a catch.

At first glance this graffiti-covered building near Wallingford might seem like a steal, with a guide price of just £60,000 - a fraction of the average house prices in the area.

Although it looks like a tiny house, the building is actually a former telephone repeater station, once used by BT to amplify communication signals.

It is being sold as part of a plot of land in Shillingford, which will go to auction next month.

Mark Harvey, who currently owns the land, said he bought it with a view of developing it but never managed to.

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The property developer, who splits his time between Essex and the South of France, said: "I used to work in Abingdon - I love Oxfordshire.

"When I saw the view from the property, surrounded on three sides with mature woodland and fields to the west, I fell in love with the aspect of it.

"The views are spectacular and Wallingford is a lovely town.

"Unfortunately it's a bit far away from where I live to be able to do something with it."

The site sits next to the A329 Shillingford Road, near Norries Drive, and has a guide price of £60,000-£80,000 plus at auction.

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Thompson Wilson Estate Agents, which is marketing the land, describes it as 'a level plot approximately 50' deep by 23' wide.'

It will go under the hammer at Old Town Hall in High Wycombe on Wednesday, June 5,

The building is classed under planning policy as C3, the category that covers 'dwellinghouses,' but anyone who wanted to convert or demolish it would still need to apply to South Oxfordshire District Council for planning permission.

Mr Harvey said he had never filed any proposals to develop the site, so it has a clean planning history.

In 2016 a couple filed for planning permission to transform a telephone repeater station in Lewknor, also in South Oxfordshire.

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They wanted to add a 2.8 metre extension, clad the outside of the building with timber and add a shower, toilet, kitchenette, cloakroom and parking.

The district council granted permission for that proposal, concluding that it would 'substantially improve the appearance of the building and associated land.'

According to Rightmove, the average price of homes sold in Wallingford last year was £400,764, while Zoopla puts that figure at £424,224.