ONE of the most unusual houses in the Vale - and probably Britain - is to go under the hammer in Birmingham later this month.

"Bridge 63" in Anchor Lane, Harvington, is exactly what it says it is - a mid-19th century Victorian railway bridge.

But where the single track which used to carry Vale produce to Birmingham used to run beneath the bridge, now stands an imposing three-bedroom home.

Until his death on St George's Day this year, it was the home of David Hutchings MBE, a waterway restoration pioneer.

He was a vice president of the Inland Waterways Association and a leading light in the Upper Avon Navigation Trust.

The single line railway came under Dr Beeching's axe in 1964 and the former Coventry City Council architect bought the land, eventually gaining planning permission to build the house in 1990.

The bulk of the house occupies the tunnel itself, although it has been built out at both front and back. The road over the bridge has been closed for some years, although there is still a footpath across it.

Auctioneer Christopher Ironmonger of Bigwood Chartered Surveyors and Auctioneers in Stratford, said: "This is certainly a unique building in my experience.

"I believe there will be a lot of interest in it apart from its obvious novelty value."

Mr Hutchings, who was survived by two sons and a daughter and his former wife Joan, was awarded the MBE in the New Years Honours in 1965 and four years later the Inland Waterways Association awarded him the Cyril Styring Trophy for his work on the restoration of the Stratford Canal and the upper Avon.

The auction will be held at the Villa Park Conference Centre in Birmingham on September 29, when bidding is expect to start around £300,000.