Sir Jimmy Savile goods auction raises £320,000 for his charities

A marathon auction of Sir Jimmy Savile's huge collection of mementos and personal belongings has raised around £320,000 for his charities.

Three auctioneers worked in relays non-stop during the almost 13-hour sale which saw the broadcasting legend's Rolls-Royce go for £130,000.

His original red Jim'll Fix It chair reached £8,500, and hundreds of smaller items went for hundreds of pounds each.

The sale was conducted in the former DJ's home city of Leeds.

Even as the hall emptied towards the end of the sale, a simple Jim'll Fix It badge sold for £2,000 to an internet bidder.

Fans' determination

Earlier, hundreds of people packed Savile Hall, at the Royal Armouries Museum in the city, for the start of the auction.

Many at the sale were fans determined to pick up smaller items including lamps, egg cups and pieces of his famous gold jewellery.

Nick Beckwith said he was determined to get one of Sir Jimmy's bikes and managed to secure lot 27 - a Falcon 21-gear mountain bike.

"I just wanted to buy it so one of the bikes would stay in Leeds," said Mr Beckwith, who is from Garforth, in the east of the city.

"You don't know, with everybody on the internet and on the phone, where they're going to go. I will ride it round Roundhay Park, which is where Jimmy rode it and had many hours of fun."

Mr Beckwith said his father used to ride with Sir Jimmy many years ago.

The first item to go was one of the late DJ's Highland suits which went for £280.

The tweed jacket and kilt was the first of the 549 lots to go under the hammer - all in aid of Sir Jimmy's charitable trust.

Distinctive cars

Lot 549 - Sir Jimmy's favourite ashtray complete with a Romeo Y Julieta cigar - went for £140 at 2310 BST.

The Rolls-Royce, which Sir Jimmy called "The Beast" and still has his personalised JS 247 plate, became the highest priced single item at £130,000 when it was snapped up by an internet bidder.

Another car, the DJ's distinctive yellow bubble car, was bought by care home owner Angela Swift for £22,000 for her new home in Barnsley.

As the sale reached the Jim'll Fix It memorabilia and the famous chair, auctioneer Will Richards said: "We're still going at nearly 12 hours. It must be a record."

A tireless charity worker, Sir Jimmy is thought to have raised more than £40m for good causes in his lifetime.

He died just before his 85th birthday last year and requested his belongings be sold for charity after his death.

The sale was watched by relatives including Sir Jimmy's niece, Amanda Mckenna, and his nephew, Roger Foster.