THE SLAD cottage which inspired author Laurie Lee's Cider With Rosie has gone on sale.

The Grade II listed semi-detached home, 1 Rosebank Cottages, requires a "comprehensive programme of restoration and renovation".

Lee moved to the property, then known as Bank Cottages, in Slad, with his mother and siblings when he was three years old.

His recollections of the sights, sounds, people and places in the village were detailed in his 1959 best-seller Cider With Rosie.

Hamptons International is now selling 1 Rosebank Cottages, which has four bedrooms and an asking price of £475,000.

Guy Tabony, manager of Hamptons International, said: "Forming part of the building in which Laurie Lee, author of Cider With Rosie, grew up, this historic Grade II listed house is now in need of a comprehensive programme of restoration and renovation, with scope to create a characterful and elegantly proportioned residence in this sought-after village.

"It is looking for a new owner who wants to carry out personal projects, it requires patience, love and elbow grease.

"Slad is a delightful village on the edge of the Slad Valley in Gloucestershire."

Mr Tabony said much of Slad is "as it was 100 years ago" with life focused around the parish church and local pub.

Lee died in Slad in 1997 and is buried in the village graveyard.