A waterside boatshed in Salcombe, near Kingsbridge, has been sold at auction for a whooping £402,000.

The shed, currently rented out as a boat store, was bought by a local man with a keen interest for yachting.

Situated between two other buildings in Ireland Street, the shed is just 13 ft wide and 80 ft long and has a 20ft long slipway to the tidal Kingsbridge estuary.

It had been expected to fetch nearer £250,000 when it was offered for sale at Salcombe Yacht Club on December 6.

According to estate agents Charles Head & Son, the fee was a record for a property of its size in the South Hams.

The auctioneer, Bob Petit, said: "This is a very good investment as there are only two or three boatsheds in Salcombe and they come up once in a blue moon."

The shed, currently occupied under a tenancy agreement, is expected to remain a boat store in the short term.

"There is very little chance in the short term of developing it, because it is in the commercial sector of Salcombe," Petit added.

"Long term, who knows? But it does have a tenant in it too. And that will continue. A local person whose family have rented it for 50 years and that will continue for some time to come."

The average cost of a property in the South Hams is nearly £300,000, while local workers earn an average salary of just £15,000.