Church collection box linked to Beatles sells at £1,700

The box was made in 1929

A collection box at the church where Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon played together for the first time has sold for £1,700 at auction.

McCartney joined Lennon's first band The Quarrymen - which later became The Beatles - in a session at St Peter's Church, Liverpool, in 1957.

Stephen Bailey, manager of The Beatles Shop, previously said he thought the box could sell for £500.

"Or enough to buy a new church collection box," he added.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney at Liverpool's waterfront in 1963

"The church was buying a new one and wondered what to do with the old one," Mr Bailey explained.

"The committee then decided to try and sell it and put the proceeds towards church funds."

The wooden box was made by a member of the church's congregation in 1929.

In 1957, McCartney - then a 15-year-old schoolboy - impressed The Quarrymen so much at the St Peter's Church session that he was invited to join the band.

Lennon was a member of the church's youth club and attended services there with his aunt, Mimi Smith.