Replica jet and WW2 Jeep at theme park auction

A full-size mock-up of the front half of a Concorde jet is expected to fetch between £10,000 - £20,000

Hundreds of historical artefacts from a former theme park are due to be sold at a two-day auction.

Flambards theme park in Helston, Cornwall, announced in November it was closing its doors with immediate effect due to "rising costs and a steady decline in visitor numbers".

The auction features more than 1,200 lots, including the Britain in the Blitz display. The number of lots is smaller than originally planned because the entire Victorian village display has already been sold as a single item.

The lots expected to fetch the highest price include a World War Two US Army Jeep and a full-size mock-up of the front part of a Concorde aircraft.

A World War Two US Army Jeep is estimated to fetch between £10,000 - £12,000

Mark Pollard, an auctioneer at David Lay Auctioneers told BBC Radio Cornwall being able to catalogue the items has been "an honour".

"We began going through everything just before Christmas and it was lovely to be in the Victorian village in Britain in the Blitz again.

"As a local man to be able to go around and really intimately get to know each of the rooms was an honour.

"It takes a lot of work to set up the auctions and... we found some surprising lots along the way."

Mark Pollard said being able to catalogue the items has been "an honour"

The ITV Westcountry mascot Gus Honeybun will also be auctioned.

The rabbit puppet lived at Flambards after he was retired from TV screens in the South West in the early 90s.

David Lay Auctioneers said Gus Honeybun was "an original automaton puppet with internal mechanism together with some original clothing" and it was expected to fetch between £300 and £500.

"Gus has seen a lot of interest", said Mr Pollard.

"We've had him set up for viewing over the weekend and the amount of people who came in to say Gus had read out their names was in the tens, at least."

Gus Honeybun appeared on ITV between 1961 and 1992

Also for sale is a life-size waxwork head of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

David Lay Auctioneers said it was expected to fetch between £800 and £1,200.

The auction of 1,276 lots will take place on Wednesday and Thursday in Penzance.