Winston Churchill's cigar butt sells for £4,200 at auction

A cigar butt discarded by Sir Winston Churchill has sold for more than £4,200.

The item was cast aside by the wartime leader in the 1940s and picked up by a policeman.

The item went under the hammer on Wednesday.

The 7cm-long butt caused quite a stir at the West Sussex auction as it was only expected to sell for £800.

The previous owner’s grandfather, Arthur Church, served as a policeman at Scotland Yard in the 1940s.

While he was on police duty escorting Churchill, the Prime Minister smoked a cigar and Mr Church picked up the discarded butt.

It was sold by Bellmans auctioneers, based in Wisborough Green, West Sussex, for a £3,500 hammer price, rising to £4,270 with buyer's premium.

It is not the first time an item from Churchill has fetched a high price.

In March a pair of his luxury velvet slippers sold for nearly £40,000, and a cigar box for almost £80,000.

As well as this, in 2018 a half-smoked cigar butt which was stubbed out by Sir Winston Churchill was valued at around £700 by auctioneers.

It was found wrapped up in an old shoebox after being handed to police officer Bill Wood as a souvenir in the 1950s.

The officer was given it as a gift while he checked in at Churchill's Chartwell country home during his second stint as Prime Minister.