First £1 Liverpool home handed over to family in Granby

The keys were handed over to Jayalal Madde in exchange for £1

The keys to the first £1 home sold in Liverpool have been handed over to its new owners.

Liverpool Council offered the chance to buy 20 vacant houses for the small sum if the new owners pledged to refurbish them and stay for at least five years.

The property, on Cairns Street, Granby, was handed over to Jayalal Madde by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson.

More than 1,000 people applied for the scheme and 10 applicants have so far been successful.

Married father-of-two Mr Madde, 48, said he had raised money through a credit union to carry out refurbishments.

The £1 houses are in Granby Four Streets, Arnside Road and Webster Triangle East

The pilot scheme is part of plans to bring 179 empty homes back into use in the Granby, Picton and Arnside Road areas of the city.

Applicants must live or work in Liverpool, be a first-time buyer and in employment. They had to agree to live in the property for a minimum of five years and not sub-let.

The work required on each property is likely to cost more than £35,000.

Mr Anderson said: "It mustn't be forgotten that bringing these homes up to a decent standard will be a real challenge.

"Those who are successful in obtaining a house will have to put in a lot of hard work, as well as their own finances."

Mr Anderson said the pilot scheme formed part of his commitment to bring 1,000 empty properties back into use across the city.