A youth hostel built to house refugees of the Spanish Civil War is to be auctioned.

The Blackboys Youth Hostel was built during the Forties.

It is a wooden cabin deep in the woods at Blackboys, near Uckfield, close to the Bluebell Railway and the Cuckoo Trail.

It has 30 beds, a lounge, dining room, kitchen, showers and a laundry room.

The centre is popular among ramblers but only has a one-star youth hostel rating - far below the standard the association is aiming for.

The site will go for auction with a guide price of £200,000 on Thursday, September 21.

Craig Thomas, deputy regional manager of the Youth Hostel Association, said: "It would require substantial investment to bring it up to standard.

"Our aim is for all hostels to be at least three-star standard.

"It's a rickety old building built with a short lifespan in the Forties as a temporary home for refugees of the Spanish Civil War.

"If we were to bring it up to today's standards, we would have to rebuild it. As a charity, we have to question whether that's the best use of our resources.

"It's a sad decision but it is for the future stability of the whole charity."

He said the hostel was busy during the summer but on average only 30 per cent full during the rest of the year.

Neil Brook, of Freeman Forman estate agents in Uckfield, said any buyer would have to deal with strict planning restrictions.

He said: "It's a beautiful secluded property that would be of highest value if the owner could gain consent for a residential development.

"It's going to auction with a guide price of £200,000. If it had consent for residential development that would be a very competitive price but the property is likely to be sold with an uplift clause so any increase in value would be passed back to the Youth Hostel Association."