RESIDENTS of a village who were given three months' notice to quit their homes have been told they can stay after a buyer in the North-East was found for the properties.
Fifteen homes in Gittisham, East Devon, will be sold to Northumberland and Durham Property Trust.
A further nine are being bought by tenants.
The trust has pledged to withdraw the notices to quit previously served on the tenants.
Gittisham resident Carol Hall, 33, said the news was a fairytale ending for the village, once described by Prince Charles as "a perfect English village".
The residents were given notice after Canadian-born estate owner Richard Marker, 50, decided to sell 27 of his properties.
They were given the chance to buy their homes, but many said they could not afford the prices.
Northumberland and Durham Property's offer was not the highest, but it offered the ''best solution for the long-term security of the village'', said Edward Heaton, of chartered surveyors Colvilles
Neither Mr Marker nor representatives of the sale agents would say how much the properties had fetched, but they confirmed proceeds had "exceeded all expectations".
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