Ferraris worth £8m left to RNLI by Stanwick businessman

Richard Colton drove the 1967 Ferrari around Europe and it has 78,000 miles on the clock

A "shy and private" businessman has left two 1960s Ferraris worth up to £8m to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in his will.

Money raised will be spent on a new lifeboat named after Richard Colton, from Stanwick, Northamptonshire and his late wife Caroline.

Guy Rose from the RNLI said he was "humbled" by the "generous gift".

The 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB and 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 will be sold by H&H Classics on 14 October.

Simon Hope, chairman of the auction company, said he was "absolutely committed to realising the maximum amount" for the "stunning motor cars".

The auctioneers said the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB was a "must have" for "serious collectors"

Mr Colton, who was a partner in the footwear company Colton Brothers, died in March aged 82.

He was a member of the V12 section of the Ferrari Owners' Club and owned other Ferraris over the years.

Mr Rose said: "Six out of every 10 lifeboat launches are only made possible because of gifts left to us in wills, so they are vital to saving lives at sea.

"Mr Colton's generosity will be felt most by our volunteer crews and the people whose lives they save."

The auction will take place at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford in Cambridgeshire.