A NINETEENTH century toy sold for more than £7,000 at an auction in Leominster.

The large and colourful German Noah's Ark, made in the mid-nineteenth century, went for a total £7,200 at Brightwells' recent toy and dolls sale.

At 26inches long, the toy is one of the largest produced and the carved painted animals were all in good condition.

It was originally purchased for an Edward Fairfax, who went on to be a clerk at the House of Lords, and was passed down through the generations.

Children would generally play with it on a Sunday and that was always under adult supervision.

It was subject to a fierce competition but an elderly lady outbid others to achieve her life long ambition of owning a fine Noah’s Ark.

A lithographed paper-on-wood dolls house made in Germany in the late nineteenth century by Gottschalk, sold for £1,800 at the auction.