Knockderry Castle’s former owner, Marian van Overwaele, was made bankrupt in 2000 after her repeated refusals to pay the £230 bill escalated the debt to £30,000.

She subsequently transferred ownership of the castle to her brother and continued to live there with him, fightings bids to evict them in the Scottish courts.

However, the Inner House of the Court of Session ruled last summer that the pair had to leave. They were finally evicted in March, The Guardian reports.

The 160-year-old building, with six bedrooms and four reception rooms, is being marketed for offers over £1.25 million by Strutt & Parker and Shepherd Chartered Surveyors.