A GENEROUS gift from a "mystery benefactor" has boosted hopes for a former elderly people's home in Appleby.

The amount has not been disclosed, but the Oaklea Trust says it has now been able to offer a "realistic" price for Edenside to its owners, Cumbria County Council.

The care home has been empty since Storm Desmond in December 2015, when elderly residents had to be relocated. CCC later permanently closed the Holme Street building, to widespread dismay in the town.

Last December, the Gazette reported that the Kendal-based Oaklea Trust would be bidding in the region of £900,000 to buy and upgrade Edenside.

Yesterday, chief executive Clive Wigley told the Gazette: "Thanks to our generous mystery benefactor, Oaklea has been able to offer a realistic purchase price to CCC for Edenside. We now hope we will be able to meet the expectations of the people of Appleby to bring back to them a new and better Edenside as extra-care housing for local elderly people."

The trust plans to create self-contained apartments for 16 people. Flooding affected the care home's boiler room, below ground, and part of the ground floor, to a depth of just 4mm. A flood resilience expert has said the flooding was caused not by the River Eden, but by water flowing down nearby streets due to blocked culverts.