House where Ian Fleming wrote James Bond for sale

Ian Fleming and Noel Coward both lived at Mermaid Cottage

A 1920s art deco seafront house in Kent, once owned by James Bond author Ian Fleming as well as playwright Noel Coward, is up for sale.

Mermaid Cottage is one of four homes located directly under the White Cliffs at St Margaret's Bay and has a guide price of £1.75m.

Fleming is believed to have written several of his Bond novels at the house between 1951 and 1957, including Moonraker.

A spokesperson for estate agent, Strutt & Parker, said the house was "set in a "breathtaking location" with a "rich history of famous connections".

Between 1945 and 1951 Noel Coward owned the home, formerly known as White Cliffs.

The house was damaged by British and Canadian troops as they trained for D-Day and restored by the playwright and composer soon after he bought it.

Coward spent £2,000 pinning back the chalk cliffs behind his house, according to Dover Museum.

It was during his time at White Cliffs that Coward discovered a love of painting.

He sold the property to his friend Ian Fleming in 1951 and moved inland to Aldington.

Fleming used it as his weekend and holiday home for several years.

Ian Fleming is thought to have written Moonraker in St Margaret's Bay in 1955

He was so inspired by the dramatic White Cliffs of Dover and the picturesque surrounding region that he used the region as the setting for Moonraker, according to Dover Museum.

Fleming enjoyed using his beloved Dover area as the location for the 1955 novel, his third Bond book.

Its villain, Hugo Drax, built his Moonraker rocket just outside of Dover, near the seaside town of Deal.

The 1979 film bore little resemblance to the novel, with the action taking place in the United States, Italy and the Amazon rainforest.

Ian Fleming died in Canterbury in 1964 aged 56.