THE cul-de-sac that once staged Liverpool-based soap Brookside was yesterday snapped up inside three minutes at auction for £735,000.

An unnamed Liverpool-based developer bought all 13 properties of Brookside Close in Croxteth Park.

The successful bid came over the telephone at the five-star Cumberland Hotel ,in central London, and beat off counter-bids from two competitors.

Stuart Gayer, a partner at auctioneers Allsop, said: “It was the most exciting auction in the 19 years I’ve spent at Allsops.

“The properties need full modernisation, which will include a kitchen, bathroom and new carpeting throughout if they are to be sold on as family homes.”

Lime Pictures, which took over the estate from former owners Mersey TV, said the Close would need substantial internal work.

James Kersh, director of Liverpool estate agents Sutton Kersh, suggested that, if the homes were made habitable, they were likely to raise about £150,000 each.

But visitors to “Brookie” this year have reported the properties lack water or electricity, meaning their most likely future is demolition, possibly erasing a key part of Merseyside’s television history.

The soap played host to some of TV’s most controversial moments, such as a lesbian kiss involving Anna Friel, and the discovery of a body under a patio.

And several of the most memorable characters, as well as the show’s originator Phil Redmond, have been linked with yesterday’s auction.

Mr Gayer said: “We are not at liberty to name the buyer, but we can say they are local to Liverpool.”