Gunman Derrick Bird's Cumbria home sells for £35,000

Bird's home had a guide price of between £30,000 and £40,000

The home of Cumbria gunman Derrick Bird has sold for £35,000 at auction.

The taxi driver killed 12 people and wounded 11 others in west Cumbria on 2 June before shooting himself.

His home went under the hammer at Carlisle Racecourse after auctioneers dropped the guide price saying only a "handful" of people had shown interest.

Bidding for the property in the village of Rowrah started at £25,000. The identity of the successful male buyer is not known.

Initially, the guide price was listed as between £35,000 and £45,000, but it was lowered before the auction.

'Handful of viewings'

Colin West, from Auction House Cumbria, said that due to its "associated history" it was hard to put a price on the property and described the sale as "difficult".

"It has to be handled professionally and sensitively," he said.

"We are part of the community as well as a business and the staff know some of the bereaved and injured as well as the Bird family.

"My advice was that the swiftest way to bring it to a conclusion was to put it [the property] in an auction.

"There has not been a great deal of interest, only a handful of viewings."

The mid-terraced property was described as being "in need of modernisation". Similar houses in the village are on sale at about £70,000.