The only house left in abandoned Welsh mining village up for auction

The last remaining house in a former Welsh mining village where hundreds of people left nearly 50 years ago over landslide fears will go up for auction.

More than 600 people and their pets abandoned Troedrhiwfuwch, Gwent, in 1985 because of fears the village - nestled in Rhymney Valley - would be hit with a catastrophic landslip.

2 Lawrence Terrace is the only house left in the village and auctioneers have set its guide price at £35,000.

Sean Roper, of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: "Why this otherwise ordinary three-bedroom house survived while all the others didn't remains a bit of a mystery but it may be a story a new owner of the property may wish to unravel."

The house is one of two remaining properties in the village, the other being the former post office building, as well as a war memorial.

The once thriving village included a chapel, a church, a shop, a pub, a school, a library, a post office and terraced houses.

Records show there were 94 houses made of three streets - High Street, Chapel Road and Lawrence Terrace.

For years the local council was concerned about the geology in the area as the mountain was moving, and later feared a landslide would engulf the village without warning.

All residents were moved out, and houses and buildings were demolished.

The sole house remaining has two reception rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom on the ground floor, with three bedrooms above, front and back gardens, and sheds.

Roper said: "It's a vastly overused word but this is a truly unique sale for all manner of reasons, the main one being that the house offers a real-life connection to a now vanished community where a population of more than 600 men, women and children and their pets, once thrived.

"The lone house, number 2, Lawrence Terrace, in the vanished village of Troedrhiwfuwch, near New Tredegar is a curious link to another age.

"Whatever the circumstances this sale offers an unrepeatable opportunity for someone to acquire a property with a wonderfully amazing history."

The house has been listed for sale at an online auction which starts at 12:00 BST on 23 June and ends from 14:00 on 25 June.