THEY may not look any grander than a humble garden shed but people are clamouring to get their hands on these eight-ft-by-seven-ft wooden huts.

The great bargain basement beach hut sale got off to a flying start on Saturday when the first batch of 22 brand new huts were allocated to their owners.

For a "mere" £7,750 you can have your own corner of prime real estate on one of the most expensive coastal stretches in the country.

But why would you want to fork out thousands for the luxury of a wooden shack?

Well, the would-be owners who eagerly arrived at Friars Cliff early Saturday morning to find out which hut was to be theirs - courtesy of a novel lottery draw which saw names picked out of a bucket - obviously had their reasons.

Rosemarie Donaldson - chairman of the Friars Cliff Beach Hut Owners' Association - was master of the bucket draw.

She said: "I've owned my hut for 13 years and there are people who have had their huts for 40 to 50 years.

"Just look at the view. It's amazing.

"You have the Isle of Wight to one side and the beautiful sea and beach. It is just so peaceful here, you really are getting away from it all. It's priceless.

"To hear the waves lapping against the shoreline and breathe in the wonderful smell of bacon in the morning as you are cooking in your beach hut is absolutely wonderful.

"If someone was to offer me ten times the value of my beach hut I would not sell it - no way!"

Beach hut mania along the Dorset coastline has soared in recent years.

Just a mile down the coast from Friars Cliff more luxurious beach huts at Mudeford Sandbank are being sold for in the region of £70,000.

But seaside lovers can now get their hands on beach huts for a tenth of that price thanks to Christchurch Borough Council.

The authority is currently building the 22 huts and selling them at a fixed price.

To make sure the huts are allocated fairly the first lot of would-be owners' names were drawn out of a bucket.

This first draw was to allocate huts to the people who had put their names on the waiting list but there are still a few huts up for grabs and a second lottery to allocate those will be held.

To find out how you can own your own little corner of paradise, contact the council's leisure services department on 01202 495000.