Manchester United programme for abandoned game sold for £7.5k

Most of the programmes for the game were destroyed after the Munich air disaster

A rare Manchester United football programme for a match abandoned due to tragedy has sold for £7,500.

The book, for the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 8 1958 , went under the hammer at Hanson Ross in Royston, Hertfordshire.

Eight Manchester United players died after the Munich air disaster, which took place two days before the game.

It was sold alongside a programme for the Manchester United v Nottingham Forest match on 22 February.

After the Wolverhampton Wanderers game was cancelled, most of the match programmes were destroyed making them valuable collectors items.

The programmes would have been priced at 4d in 1958.

The unnamed winning UK bidder paid a total £9,840 when fees are included.

Amanda Butler, director of operations at the Royston firm, said: "We are delighted this historically important and rare piece of football memorabilia has achieved the price it deserved."

The plane's co-pilot Ken Rayment was the final victim, dying 23 days after the crash

The seller, Peter Jackson, from Wembley in London, was given the rare items by his uncle who worked in the Manchester print shop that made the programmes.

Mr Jackson kept the programmes inside a cardboard folder in his bedside drawer.

He said he hoped the books have "gone to a Manchester United fan or keen collector who will look after them for years to come to honour the Busby's Babes who lost their lives".

On February 6, 1958 the British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a snow-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport.

At the time Manchester United had not been beaten for 11 matches and were six points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers, the league leaders.

Seven players were killed in the crash and one died 15 days later in hospital.