Wartime spy gadgets sell for thousands at auction

A pen with a dagger inside reveals the danger its users faced

Deadly secret service gadgets including a dagger disguised as a pen and a barbed wire garrote have sold for thousands of pounds at auction.

The James Bond-style collection was designed for use by British spies and troops caught behind enemy lines from World War Two onwards.

An assassination pen dagger was sold for £7,000, while a key with a secret compartment was bought for £3,200.

A garrote wire with a guide price of £100 went for £3,200.

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The garrote is made from barbed wire with rings at either end

The key has a hollow centre which could be used to smuggle messages, or even cyanide pills

C&T Auctioneers in Kent received the collection from a 72-year-old historian who had amassed the items over a period of more than 30 years.

The anonymous seller claimed he never worked as a spy himself.

The watch has a tiny, hidden microphone for a spy to secretly record conversations

He told BBC South East: "I have had the pleasure of owning them and feel it is time that another collector or museum has the opportunity.

"I would like to think they will go to a collector who will cherish them as much as I have over the years."

Other items sold in the auction on Tuesday included a watch with a hidden microphone, which was bought for £550, a rare special forces escape utility knife, which went for £1,600, and an assassination lapel spike, sold for £420.

It is not known who bought the items.