Landmark lighthouse up for sale

In 1999 the lighthouse was moved back from the edge of Beachy Head

One of East Sussex's most famous landmarks has gone on sale.

The Grade II-listed Belle Toute lighthouse at Beachy Head has been put on the market for £850,000.

Mark and Louise Roberts bought the lighthouse in December 1996 for about £200,000 when it was perched 4.5m (15ft) from the cliff edge.

In 1999 they had the 850-tonne granite construction pushed more than 17m (56ft) inland to protect it from coastal erosion.

Belle Toute was a working lighthouse from 1834 until 1902, when it was replaced by the red and white lighthouse below Beachy Head.

'Spectacular views'

Since then it has been used as a tea shop, for target practice by Canadian troops, as the setting for the BBC drama Life and Loves of a She-Devil, and as a private home.

Tim Page-Ratcliff of Strutt & Parker, the firm selling the building, said: "This is a truly breathtaking property which has spectacular 360-degree views over the English Channel and the South Downs.

"A Grade II monument such as this does not come to the open market very often and the sale of Belle Tout offers a wonderful opportunity for someone looking for a home with a genuine difference."

Beachy Head is the highest coastal chalk cliff in the UK, rising 535ft (163m) above sea level.