A humble beach hut has gone on the market for a staggering £440,000 - the same price as a five-bed house in some parts of the country.

The wooden cabin is on the exclusive Mudeford sandbank in Christchurch Harbour and has amazing sea views towards the Isle of Wight.

Hut 297 has been owned by the same family since they bought it off the local council in the 1970s or '80s for a four figure sum.

Bournemouth Echo:  Picture: Denisons/BNPS Picture: Denisons/BNPS (Image: Picture: Denisons/BNPS)

Since then prices for the 360 seaside cabins on the remote sandy peninsula have soared in value.

Read more: Couple selling home, luxury beach hut AND boat

In 2002 they were selling for £70,000. By 2005 they were up to £135,000 and then £270,000 by 2014. In 2020 they were worth about £350,000.

The attraction of the huts is that they can be slept in for seven months of the year as well as the isolated location of the Mudeford sandbank.

Bournemouth Echo: Denisons/BNPSDenisons/BNPS (Image: Denisons/BNPS)

Cars are banned from the strip of land which is only accessible by a 20 minutes walk, a ride on a land train or a short ferry trip across the harbour.

Hut 297 can sleep up to eight people, but has no toilet or mains electricity.

Read more: The Dorset beach hut on the market for £450k (yes, really)

It does have solar panels on the roof to provide some electricity and a full-size cooker connected to a gas bottle.

Bournemouth Echo: Denisons/BNPSDenisons/BNPS (Image: Denisons/BNPS)

There is also a 100-litre water tank with heater for running water and it has double glazed doors and windows.

The hut has a fully fitted kitchen, a living room area with seating that converts into extra beds and a mezzanine level that can sleep five.

Bournemouth Echo: Denisons/BNPSDenisons/BNPS (Image: Denisons/BNPS)

In front it has a small deck that leads directly onto the sandy beach and there is storage underneath the hut.

The new owners will have to share a communal toilet and shower block with other hut owners.

Andrew Denison, of estate agents Denisons, which is selling the hut, said he doesn't expect it to hang around for long.

He said: "We have a retained list of prospective buyers and have had interest in it already.

Bournemouth Echo: Picture: Denisons/BNPSPicture: Denisons/BNPS (Image: Denisons/BNPS)

"The huts that have come on the market this year have sold quickly and I don't imagine this one will hang around for too long.

"It is in really good order and is in a nice location, facing the beach and the sea.

"A beach hut at Mudeford isn't a seasonal purchase. People buy them all year round and look ahead for staycation holidays."

Bournemouth Echo: Denisons/BNPSDenisons/BNPS (Image: Denisons/BNPS)

As well as paying out the asking price, the new owners will also have to stump up about £4,500 a year to the local council in fees.

For less than the asking price of the hut, a homebuyer could get a five-bedroom, three bathroom bungalow in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire.