No auction bids for Dibnah house

Fred Dibnah bought the house more than 40 years ago

The home of the late Bolton steeplejack Fred Dibnah has failed to sell at auction as no bids were offered.

The three-bedroom property on Radcliffe Road, Bolton, which has a mine shaft and blue heritage plaque, had a guide price of £250,000 to £300,000.

Alan McNaughton, from Miller Metcalfe estate agents, started the auction at £200,000 but then dropped to £130,000 to try to kick-start the bids.

Mr Dibnah, who became a TV personality, died from cancer in 2004, aged 66.

His house, which was built in 1851, featured in numerous documentaries about him.

I think that the current credit crunch meant that the temperature was just not right at this time Alan McNaughton

Its gardens include Mr Dibnah's engine shed, workshops and a recently-developed mine shaft - complete with winding gear - which was only given planning permission after his death.

Mr McNaughton said he was "surprised" and "disappointed" that the property failed to sell at the auction in Bolton but added that he remained optimistic that someone would eventually snap it up.

"We have had a lot of interest in the property - many people had been to view it prior to the auction," he said.

"There must have been more than a dozen people at the sale who had gone specifically for the property but they may have been there out of curiosity rather than with an intent to buy it.

Fred Dibnah died in 2004

"I am surprised and disappointed that it didn't sell. It had a reserve price of just under £200,000 but I think that the current credit crunch meant that the temperature was just not right at this time.

"The price was very realistic for that residential area, especially when you consider the accommodation, the grounds and the potential of the outbuildings where Fred did all his engineering work.

"I remain very optimistic that it will sell though and have already had a handful of people come up to me and express an interest since the auction closed."

Mr Dibnah started work as a joiner but, after completing his National Service, fulfilled his dream to be a steeplejack to service the hundreds of chimneys that once crowded the skies of Bolton.

He shot to fame after being profiled on a local news programme in the North West of England in 1979 where he was filmed hanging 240ft (73m) off the ground while repairing Bolton's town hall clock.

The father-of-six was a great admirer of the Industrial Revolution and the Victorians - steam engines were his greatest passion - and he appeared on numerous television programmes on these subjects over the years .

He was made an MBE in 2003, a year after he demolished his last chimney stack.