Beatles record found in charity shop sells for £4,000

The first pressing of Please Please Me is said to be "extremely rare"

A rare Beatles record found in a London charity shop has been auctioned for more than £4,200.

Shop manager Jaime-Marie Madden, who works at a Cancer Research UK charity shop in Enfield, north London, found the record, which she initially thought to be worth a few hundred pounds.

It was in fact a first pressing from the original masters of the foursome's debut studio album Please Please Me.

The album, released in 1963, sold on eBay for £4,211.89.

The eager-to-please record raised more than £4,000 for charity

The find was processed by a dedicated online trading team for Cancer Research and listed with a starting price of £1,499.99.

Ms Madden said: "The record was in good condition, with only a few marks, but the sleeve was pretty damaged and worn, with a cut at base, some scuffs, marks, ageing and stains.

"We're trained to spot donations that can raise more money for life-saving cancer research, so after taking a few pictures and Googling the record, I knew we had something special."

Record valuation specialist Mike Kuklenko said the disc was an "incredibly rare" record.

"I've seen a few stories like this in my time as professional vinyl valuer.

"People have shared their old collections, thinking it will raise a few pounds, and I've been fortunate enough to be the one who surprises them that they have a gem or two worth hundreds or even thousands of pounds."

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