FORMER First Minister Jack McConnell has put his home on the market amid a legal dispute with his next-door neighbour.

The property in Stirling's exclusive King's Park area has gone on sale at offers over £275,000 as the row over the use of a 3ft by 3ft coal shed remains unresolved.

The former Mr McConnell, now Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, and his wife Bridget took 69-year-old Norma Hunter, a former children's nursery owner, to court in a bid to exert ownership of the shed, which their neighbour uses to store tools and mops.

The case was cited last month to allow further work to continue on the civil claim, with both parties due to return to Stirling Sheriff Court at a later date.

Mrs McConnell, who is head of Glasgow Life, the organisation in charge of arts, culture and sports in the city, confirmed the couple were now moving out of their two-bedroom home but remaining in the upmarket neighbourhood.

She said: "It is a lovely property and the minor technical correction to the title deeds of all affected can only enhance how attractive it is.

"For family reasons, we will be moving to another house in the same area."

Estate agents described the apartment as sitting in one of Stirling's "premier addresses". The particulars note the imposing nature of the Victorian property, which has been "upgraded by the present owner to provide an attractive home".

Its period features, original cornicing, solid oak flooring and underfloor heating in the bathroom have all been highlighted.

The particulars make no mention of the coal cellar.

The property's arrival on the market comes a month after the most recent court hearing, when Lord McConnell was criticised by a sheriff for trying to ban Mrs Hunter from using the coal shed until the case is settled with an interim interdict, a move that could have resulted in his neighbour being sent to prison had she flouted the order.

The interim interdict was thrown out by Sheriff Wyllie Robertson on March 13.

Lord McConnell was also ordered to pay Mrs Hunter's legal expenses for the decree motion and the interim interdict as the row intensified.

The couple claim a land certificate for the property states that the coal cellar, which sits on the boundary of the gardens of the McConnells and Mrs Hunter, belongs to them, but Stirling Sheriff Court heard claims the paperwork contained an error.

Mrs Hunter, who has lived in her property for 20 years, declined to comment yesterday on her neighbours' move given the ongoing legal action.

She lives in the property directly next door to that of the McConnells, with the couple's apartment forming the ground floor of a semi-detached villa.

A retired Church of Scotland minister, the Rev Malcolm MacRae, lives in the flat above.

The McConnells's lawyer argued that the cellar was part of the staircase that was joined on to the basement of the property owned by the McConnells's, so therefore should be theirs.

However, Mrs Hunter's legal team argued that the cellar was distinct from the internal staircase and distinct from their property.

Mr MacCrae was unavailable for comment yesterday, but said following last month's hearing that he had tried to act as peacemaker between the parties. He said he believes the shed belongs to Mrs Hunter.

Lord McConnell, 51, was Scotland's First Minister from 2001 to 2007, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 until last year and made a Labour peer in 2010.

Lord McConnell is currently on holiday in Turkey.