A DILAPIDATED tithe barn has been given a new lease of life thanks to Dorset author Minette Walters and her husband Alec.

Locals and passers-by have been delighted by the restored look of the Grade II barn near the Walters' home at Whitcombe Manor.

The couple decided to buy the barn and spruce it up last year and have been amazed by the response to the project.

Mr Walters said: "We thought it was in a bad state but it was only when we got the roof off that we were able to see what a state it had fallen into.

"It was mainly through disrepair but there was also some deliberate vandalism.

"A great deal of work went into stabilising the building and also rethatching it."

Mr Walters paid tribute to the work of local builders Lee Alexander and Geoff Stone as well as the contribution of RV Miller thatchers from Wool.

He said: "They were fantastic, they have done a brilliant job.

"The reason we bought it was that we had been trying to get something done about it for years as it's such a prominent building.

"So in the end we just persuaded the owner to let us buy it.

"I'm very pleased, we have got ideas of what we would like to do with it. It would be nice to try and turn it into a farm shop but that's possibly something for the future."

Mr and Mrs Walters have both been taken aback by the overwhelmingly positive response to the project.

Mr Walters said: "Lots of people keep coming up to us and saying it's fantastic. We have been quite surprised as we hadn't realised quite how important it was to so many people."

Mrs Walters added: "We've just had a letter from Broadmayne Parish Council saying how thrilled they are with it.

"People are absolutely delighted that it is all back together and looking as it ought to. It does look absolutely splendid."

One impressed passer-by was Chris Russell from Osmington, who said: "It really does look magnificent. It stands very prominently on the corner as you pass through Whitcombe so you can't miss it in all its splendour.

"Just when the barn seemed destined to become derelict, they stepped in and rescued it.

"I am sure it was a very costly project for them - not just financially but also in the time and planning required."