EIGHT family homes across the North-East are set to go under the hammer for just £1 each at an auction being held on Tuesday.

The mix of two and three-bedroom homes in Thornaby, Stockton, Darlington, Peterlee, Durham, Bishop Auckland and Seaham, have been listed with a guide price of either £1 or nothing by auctioneers, Bond Wolfe Auctions.

The houses, which are all currently vacant and mostly boarded up, are being sold with an extremely low price tag or 'nil' because they are in need of 'serious renovation' and 'major improvement works'.

At five of the properties, auctioneers say only external viewings are available, while it is suggested a 'full programme' of refurbishment is required to bring the homes into a liveable standard.

Despite each of the houses' poor conditions, auction organisers expect the properties will attract fierce competition from bidders and prospective homeowners.

The chief executive of Bond Wolfe Auctions, Gurpreet Bassi said: "It is rare to start auction lots with guide prices of nil and £1, and these lots are likely to attract strong interest from potential buyers.

“Each property obviously needs investment to return them into decent homes.

"But for the right investors these could provide two of the best bargains available across the UK in 2019.”

In contrast, the auctioneers have listed a three-bedroom house on Hampden Street in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, with a guide price of about £20,000 although auctioneers suggest this property requires modernisation and some work.

Mr Bassi reaffirmed the Teesside properties' £1 guide price was extremely low, but prospective owners would still have to pay the firm's auction administration fee of £1,074 including VAT, for each of the properties successfully sold.

He said some auction properties can incur further costs, and advised prospective bidders to read the properties' legal pack.

The houses will go under the hammer on Tuesday, September 10 at 10.30am.

The auction is being held at the Aston Villa Football Club in Birmingham, which is its regular venue for the several Bond Wolfe Auctions hold each year.