After fierce bidding the hammer came down on the 44.92 acres at Castle Weir in Lyonshall with the price at £300,000.

The winning bid for the land, which is all classified as Grade II by the ministry, was made by a local agent and equates to almost £6,800 an acre.

“It is a fantastic price for land at this time of year and as good as we’ve seen in this part of the country,” said auctioneer Richard Gwilliam. “The sale really shows the strength in the land market at the moment.

The land is in a secluded spot off the A44 road from Kington to Leominster and is partly in arable rotation and partly in grass leys. It all comes available for potatoes this year.

“The opening bid was £220,000 and there terrific interest at the auction with around 10 parties bidding,” said Mr Gwilliam. “It was a rare opportunity to acquire land of such quality in this area”