Mtd Lawnflite Ride On Mower Garden Tractor

Started and ran fine last week. Now it won t start, and the battery leads heat up when I try.. I don t know what that means and whether it fixable if you know what you re doing. Everything else is as you would expect on an old tractor, but it did the job fine before. I ve bought a newer one so I just need rid of this-any reasonable offer taken as long as you come and collect it yourself. (There s also a spare collection box canvas)