A cliffside property in imminent danger of collapsing into the sea failed to find a buyer at auction, despite going under the hammer for just £250,000 – a fraction of its estimated true value. The failed sale highlights the difficulty of offloading coastal homes threatened by erosion, which typically become uninsurable and unmortgageable, leaving few realistic buyers even at steep discounts.

The house is thought to be worth more than four times the guide price if it were not at risk from crumbling cliffs, but bidders evidently balked at the safety and structural concerns tied to its precarious location. Coastal erosion continues to threaten a number of clifftop homes around Britain's coastline, often forcing owners to sell at auction for a fraction of market value or abandon the properties altogether.