The floorboards are rotten, the Seventies wallpaper is hanging off and the windows are broken. The only family to live there in recent months was a family of pigeons.

It needs a new central heating system, double glazing and a strong air freshener.

After suffering from 30 years of neglect, this Victorian Kemp Town flat is looking for someone to lavish some love on it.

Its eight shabby rooms need at least £25,000 spent on them just to make the property habitable. And that's before the decorating starts or anyone begins to tackle the overgrown garden (complete with an abandoned motorbike).

But, despite its faults, prospective owners are queuing up to view the ground-floor flat since it went on the market ten days ago - at a price tag of £250,000.

Estate agents Clifford Dann was so unprepared for the response it has had to run group visits to accommodate viewers at the flat in Marine Parade.

As well as the pigeons, interested parties have had to dodge the decades-old cobwebs which dangle from the ceilings.

What few fixtures and fittings are left, such as the original fireplaces and wooden shutters on the windows, need far more than a spot of DIY and a healthy helping of TLC.

Chances are, the property's new owner will have to rip most things out and start again from scratch.

Estate agent Simon Francis said: "You don't see many homes like this on the seafront, the garden hasn't been touched since the year dot and the flat has a real Miss Haversham feel to it."

The building, believed to date back to the 1820s, has been empty for six months.

Mr Francis said the previous occupant was an elderly man who owned the entire five-storey building. He lived in the property alone for about 30 years.

The flat above and basement flat below are also for sale at similar prices. The second and third-floor flats have been snapped up.

No decorating is believed to have been done on the ground-floor flat since the Seventies, hence the peeling paint and wallpaper. Some walls still show the original stone.

The bathroom and kitchen are also outdated, as well as the fixtures and fittings, many of which are hanging off the walls.

The 1,750sqft flat should be worth about £350,000 when transformed.

Mr Francis said prospective buyers included families in search of a holiday home and an architect.

People have told him they are willing to put up with the state of the building because of its location. A string of past and present celebrities have lived on the street, including Sir Lawrence Olivier, Emma Bunton, Patrick Bergin and Dora Bryan.

He said the property had a lot of potential, including a balcony with sea view and plenty of opportunity for buyers to put their stamp on the design and decor.

Planning permission has been granted to knock down walls to demolish the existing bathroom and create en suite bathrooms for the bedrooms, to make a new main entrance and a bigger kitchen.

Mr Francis admitted it would take more than a flounce from Changing Rooms designer Laurence Llewelyn Bowen to turn the hovel into a home.

But he added: "It would be a perfect project for a builder or expert DIY-er.

"They'd have to give the building a complete overhaul as well as having to tackle the problem of getting rid of the pigeons.

"But I'm sure they would depart when the new residents moved in."

Thursday August 7, 2003