One of Walsall’s oldest buildings has been repossessed and is to be auctioned off.

Willenhall’s Bell Inn – parts of which date back to the 1660s – is for sale on September 15 at Aston Villa Football Club by Cottons Auctioneers it has been revealed.

It will have a guide price of £40,000-£50,000.

A sign has gone up outside the Market Place pub, which closed more than three years ago. However, will find themselves with a repair bill of more than £200,000.

A petition containing more than 1,500 signatures has been gathered in the past calling for the pub to be revived but Willenhall South councillor Carl Creaney said: “It’s going to cost a fortune for whoever buys it.”

Walsall Council started legal proceedings against the former owner for £2,500 emergency repair work which it did this year.

Councillor Creaney added: “We could get a responsible owner, but what we don’t want are elusive owners.”

The pub survived the Great Fire of Willenhall 1659 which destroyed many town buildings.