MODERN thatched cottages are being built from scratch in the hope that they break the mould of 'identikit' housing being built in the county.

The finishing touches are being put to the row of three cottages and one detached house in Milton village - thought to be the first built in the Vale of White Horse area for decades.

Situated on Milton High Street, the buildings are the joint effort of Anthony Mockler-Barrett, whose family has owned the Milton Manor House for 250 years, and Lake House Developments, based in Upton.

Mr Mockler-Barrett said they hope the cottages will inspire other developers to be more creative in their house-building.

He said: These are the first new thatched cottages to be built in the Vale, as far as we know - and we're very proud of them.

"We hope that they'll be an example to other landowners and developers in the Vale that you can be imaginative and get away from the identikit box-like houses that are disfiguring so much of the area."

Thatched cottages are a regular feature of sleepy Oxfordshire villages but many date back hundreds of years.

Developers instead have preferred designs that are easy to build quickly and cheaply, leading to vast estates such as Great Western Park in Didcot.

Mr Mockler-Barrett said he wanted to do something more interesting after seeing a modern development go up at the other end of the village.

He said: "The plan was to enhance the conservation area - and to add something both interesting and traditional to the High Street - something that fitted in with the village scene, not the usual modernist development that stands out like a sore thumb - of which there's an appalling example of 12 'executive homes' at the other end of the village."

It's been a steep learning curve for Mark Amos, owner of Lake House Developments who had never worked on a thatched building before.

He said: "It's been a learning experience for me too. I've never done a thatched building before and I must say I began it with some misgivings.

"I had to learn the difference between combed straw and long reed for a start."

Once the Milton project is complete the two hope to combine forces again and work on a future site nearer Didcot.