Sue Nicholson
BBC News

Image source, Hansons Auctioneers

A cigar butt once smoked by Sir Winston Churchill is expected to fetch up to £700 when it is auctioned later this month.

The former prime minister was renowned for his love of cigars and is said to have smoked about 10 a day, though never more than half way down.

The cigar butt was originally given to a police officer who would regularly patrol Churchill's country home near Westerham, in Kent.

His son, Mike Wood, from Belper in Derbyshire, owns the item.

He said his father Bill was a member of the fast-response team which would frequently check that all was well at Chartwell.

"During one of those trips, someone in the house gave my father the cigar butt which had been smoked by Winston himself.”

He said his father was so proud of the cigar that he stored it carefully in a small plastic bag.

It will be auctioned at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire on 27 March.

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BBC Live reporter

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