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Picture: Adrian Dunford

An arial view showing the house on the Sandbanks peninsular

This run-down house in desperate need of repair has sold for nearly £3.5million to set a record for the millionaire's resort of Sandbanks. The price paid for the shabby home on the sandy peninsular in Poole, Dorset, equates to £1,725 per square foot. But the unnamed couple who have bought the pile are more interested in the two-way views of picturesque Poole Harbour from the front and the sea to the rear. The property is one of the last of its type on the exclusive peninsula that has yet to be bought up and developed.

Sandbanks is rated at the fifth most expensive location in the world to buy property, with only Manhatten, Tokyo, Hong Kong and London ahead of it. Estate agents have described the deal as a 'sensible price'.