Closed Norfolk museum's stuffed polar bear sells for £5k

The 8ft polar bear had been expected to sell for more than £7,000

A life-size stuffed polar bear from a closed nostalgia museum in Norfolk has gone under the hammer for £5,000.

It was among the first of many items being sold off from Yesterday's World in Great Yarmouth, which announced last month it was shutting.

The 8ft (2.4m) bear had been expected to fetch between £7,000 and £10,000.

Richard Edmonds, from Chippenham Auction Rooms, said it was bought by a private collector who hoped to exhibit it.

'Size limit'

"It's size limited the number of people that could fit it in. So many people really wanted him but they just couldn't fit him into their house," he said.

The Wiltshire auction house is selling off the museum's exhibits across December and January.

Items include a working Victoria carousel, wax figures for Madam Tussauds, vintage toys, enamel signs and the contents of several preserved shops.

Yesterday's World held over 150,000 nostalgia exhibits which the former management described as "one of the best social history collections in the UK".

However, last month a message was posted on the museum's website saying it was closing as a search to find a buyer had failed.