Here comes Johnny: Mr Depp 'house hunting in Norfolk'

Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp is rumoured to be househunting in deepest Norfolk, it emerged today.

It is thought the Pirates of the Caribbean star has set his sights on a £5.5m Elizabethan mansion steeped in history called Claxton Manor.

The rumours about Depp, 45, come just days after it emerged troubled singer Amy Winehouse is looking for a property in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, to be close to her jailed husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

Claxton Manor, about nine miles south-east of Norwich, has eight bedrooms, six bathrooms and four reception rooms and is packed with period features.

It has views over Claxton Marshes to the rivers and rolling hills beyond and 826 acres of land, grazing marshes, farmland, woods and water.

Last month Depp donated a couple of signed photos of himself to a local Brownies pack, fuelling rumours he was planning a move to the area.

And six months earlier he was spotted drinking local beer Adnams in a nearby village pub The Ivy House in Stradbroke.

He also went for a meal at the Fox and Goose restaurant, in Fressingfield, but was turned away because there were no free tables.

Claxton Manor is not the first house believed to have been seen by Depp.

Other houses he has been linked to in the area include Jasper Conran's former weekend retreat, a 13th Century moated house called Flemings Hall, in Bedingfield and Wingfield Priory that was on the market for £1.5m and had its own vineyard.

Agents Savills refused to confirm or deny the rumours that Depp, and his French-born wife Vanessa Paradis, have shown interest in Claxton Manor.

Jane Kenny, the agent handling the sale, said: 'We can't confirm who we've been talking to about the estate.

'We can say that it hasn't been sold. There has been a lot of interest but we cannot disclose the names of any potential purchaser.'

New crib: Depp is rumour to have his eye on Claxton Manor in Norfolk