IT is a slice of broadcasting history.

Dingley Dell, the former home of Noel Edmonds and the inspiration for his 1970s Radio 1 Breakfast show is up for sale.

The thatched cottage in Whelp Street, Preston St Mary, which also could have been the basis for Noel’s House Party has been put on the market, for a deal (or No Deal) price of �525,000.

Those living in the village and nearby Lavenham have said they still remember the “popular and polite” star’s time at the timber-framed property.

One resident, who asked not be named said: “We used to see him in the Swan in Lavenham. I think he drank in there quite often. I think Dingley Dell was his Suffolk hideaway. He was fun-loving, I know some people saw him racing go-karts up and down the driveway.”

The house, described by estate agents as a “chocolate box” cottage “away from the masses and busy roads”, comes with 1.47 acres of land, orchards and a stream.

According to one man who knows the property well, but who also declined to be named, Dingly Dell is still fit for a star of radio and TV.

And those tempted by the four-bedroom home, which comes with a drawing room and two bathrooms, can be reassured that Noel’s time at the house pre-dated the creation of one his most famous and destructive creations – Mr Blobby.

He added: “Thankfully Mr Blobby never set foot over the threshold so there’s definitely no Blobby damage. But it does come in Blobby pink.”

The name Dingley Dell became synonymous with Noel Edmonds while he presented Radio 1’s flagship show until April 1978. He telephoned unsuspecting members of the public pretending to be an awkward official, live from Perkins Grange in Dingley Dell.

The property is on the market with Bedfords.