STEPPING Stones School in Hindhead has bought Undershaw, the home of Sherlock Homes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The house, which has been steadily decaying since it was last used as an hotel in 2004, was put on the market again last year, after a developer's bid to build and convert it into apartments was successfully challenged in the High Court in 2012.

After several previous bids to develop the building, Waverley Borough Council granted planning permission for the flats and change of use for the grade II-listed building in 2010.

But that decision was overturned by the court ruling after a campaign by Doyle biographer and chartered surveyor, John Gibson, and the Undershaw Preservation Trust.

The trust waged a national and international campaign to save Undershaw.

For full story, see this week's Liphook Herald.