DERELICT houses which have been empty for up to 10 years have been sold at auction for up to £77,000 each.

The eight terraced houses in Mote Road and Melville Road, Maidstone, all exceeded the £48-50,000 guide price set by Bearsted-based auctioneers Clive Emson. Most of the properties were sold for between £65,000 and £70,000 each.

A spokeswoman for Clive Emson said she was "a bit shocked" by the amount of interest generated by the sale at a Hollingbourne hotel. She said the houses were each bought separately by builders and private individuals but would not not reveal their identity.

The houses each need repairs of up to £20,000 including new carpets, curtains, windows, kitchen and bathroom. Until recently, they faced demolition after Kent County Council bought them as part of plans to widen Mote Road in a major reorganisation of the traffic system in the centre of Maidstone.

But the scheme - the Southern Approach Road - was dropped in 1997 in favour of a simplified plan to ease traffic concentrating on Lower Stone Street, Knightrider Street and Bishops Way.