FANCY renting a luxury stately pad for Royal Ascot in York ?

Got a spare £32,500 lying around the house?

In the unlikely event the answer to both these questions is yes, a North Yorkshire stately home could be yours for a whole seven days.

The owners of Sutton Park - the historic home of Sir Reginald and Lady Sheffield eight miles north of York - are now taking offers from racing fans willing to dig deep for that special Ascot week experience.

For the minimum fee of £32,500 the tenant would get:

scores of bedrooms and bathrooms

access to the award-winning gardens

seven members of staff

parking space for up to 200 cars.

Guests wanting to avoid Ascot traffic jams need not fret - the spacious gardens have ample space for helicopter parking.

Elaine Machen, administrator at the home, at Sutton-on-the-Forest said the motive behind the decision to rent the lavish property was to raise much-needed funds. Sutton Park's running and maintenance costs run into tens of thousands of pounds.

She said: "This is just one way of assuring that Sutton Park will be around in all its glory for future generations."

Whoever secures the house for Ascot will be able to keep the home's chef, gardener and housekeeper on, if requested, she added.

The house, which attracts about 10,000 visitors a year and is available for weddings and corporate events, is advertised on the ascot-lets.com website.

The site offers residents the chance to rent properties for the high-profile racing meeting event, due in York in 2005. Racegoers can also browse the site and select a property.

Sutton Park is the most expensive property available.

Neil Boddy, manager of the website, had a tour of the house. He said: "It's phenomenal."

Sutton Park was built in 1730.

Sir Reginald's ancestor, the Duke of Buckingham, built Buckingham House in 1704. The building later bacame Buckingham Palace.

Another relative fought alongside Sir Francis Drake in the Spanish Armada.

Sutton Park contains 18th century furniture, paintings and an important collection of porcelain.

Real Madrid for Aldwark?

EVERYBODY'S talking about it.

In the pubs and shops, on the street corners and over the garden fence, people living in the towns and villages surrounding Aldwark Manor hotel are besieged by tales of Posh and Becks.

The Evening Press reported yesterday how rumours were rife that David and Victoria had booked the luxurious 60-bedroomed hotel, near Easingwold, for the five-day Royal Ascot festival.

But the latest rumour doing the rounds is even more extraordinary.

At The Bay Horse Inn, Aldwark, there was tslk about the whole Real Madrid football team staying at the hotel ration of Royal Ascot.

The famous Spanish club - to which Beckham was transferred last summer - boasts some of the world's biggest soccer superstars, including Ronaldo, Figo and Raul.

Staff at the hotel remained tight-lipped when asked about the rumours.

One employee, who looks after guests in the spa and leisure suite, said: "I don't know anything about it and no one else in this hotel will say anything either."

Updated: 10:33 Wednesday, April 28, 2004