WE live in a city where it will cost you more than £2,000 to live in a house with a shark jammed in the roof, so perhaps the offer of effectively living in someone’s shed for £450 should not be that surprising.

It is, by all appearances from the photographs advertised online, a lovely shed – as far as sheds go.

There is a complete lack of rakes, mowers and old tins of mint green paint for instance. But it is still a shed. Yet, such is the demand for decent housing out there, there was a lot of contact from people whose interest was at least piqued enough to enquire about it.

Taken as a one-off, you might think each to their own.

If someone is happy enough to sleep in a shed – even if it means bolting across the frozen lawn early morning to grab a shower and your bowl of cornflakes – then that is a matter for tenant and landlord, health and safety requirements permitting.

But there is a bigger picture. Anecdotally there have been many tales over the past couple of years that parents are building structures (a little more solidly) in their back gardens to help their adult children out.

It all demonstrates this city needs more affordable housing, otherwise the offer of a bed in a shed will become less of a rarity.