Thomas the Tank Engine heirs win tax battle as Devon cliff cottage fails to sell

The grandchildren of the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine have won a bitter tax battle against HMRC over the multi-million-pound royalties of the series. In Devon, a separate property saga is unfolding: a three-bedroom thatched cliffside cottage in Sidmouth, valued at between £1,100,000 and £1,600,000, failed to sell at auction despite a reserve price of just £250,000. The property, designed and built in the 1960s for novelist R.F. Delderfield, sits 40ft from a 120ft drop on the Jurassic Coast, where soft red sandstone cliffs are known to collapse suddenly. The current owners paid £695,000 in June 2011, but after a cliff fall in 2024 brought the edge nearer, only three bidders came forward, the highest offering £249,000. The listing warns: 'The property has in recent years suffered a cliff fall within the very far boundary of the garden. A full cliff survey can be seen within the legal pack.' The council regularly closes beaches due to spontaneous rockfall, and in 2024 another large portion crumbled at nearby Jacob's Ladder Beach. The owner is now seeking further offers and may put the property up for auction again.