My Sweet Lord! George Harrison letter sells for double expected price

The letter and signed photo were discovered during a house clearance in Lincolnshire

An apology letter from George Harrison to two young autograph hunters who were told off after they turned up at his house has sold at auction for £6,100.

The handwritten note was part of a collection of Beatles memorabilia that turned up during a Lincolnshire house clearance.

It was discovered following the recent death of one of the students.

The letter along with a signed photo of Harrison with the two fans had been expected to fetch £2,500 to £3,000.

James Laverack of auctioneers John Taylors said the story began when Harrison moved into his new home, Kinfauns, a large bungalow on the Claremont Park Estate, in Esher, Surrey in 1964.

"The estate's big house, an 18th Century former Royal mansion just across the park, was then a private girls' school and it was two of their pupils who arrived unannounced on Harrisons doorstep," he said.

"It would seem they got a frosty reception from the woman who answered the door. Not only did she make it clear to the girls that their visit was not welcome but she then telephoned the school to make a complaint - which is when the balloon rather went up. Messages were flying between the school, the parents and Kinfauns."

George Harrison wrote the letter in the 1960s at the height of his Beatles' fame

However, when Harrison found out he wrote a letter to the mother of one of the girls explaining it was the housekeeper who had called the school and he knew nothing about it.

Mr Laverack said the guitarist added that John Lennon had signed the girl's book and "she was welcome to call the following week to collect it."

"When the schoolgirl did call she not only got her book but an autographed photograph - and George posed with her for a snap," the auctioneer added.