Winston Churchill's velvet slippers fetch nearly £40,000

Churchill often teamed the slippers with a one-piece "siren suit", which he had made during wartime

A pair of velvet slippers that belonged to Sir Winston Churchill have sold for nearly £40,000 at auction.

The shoes, which are monogrammed with his initials WSC, date back to the 1950s.

Churchill was regularly photographed wearing them during his second spell as prime minister from 1951-55.

A brandy glass that belonged to him was also sold and fetched more than £18,000 at the same auction.

The slippers were sold by Sussex auctioneers Bellmans, and were made by N. Tuczek of Mayfair, a well-known shoemaker of the time.

The slippers and monogrammed brandy balloon glass both exceeded their expected price tags

Initially expected to go for up to £15,000, they sold on Tuesday for £39,040, including buyer's premium. The brandy glass also surpassed its guide price of £10,000.

Auctioneer Julian Dineen said: "Sir Winston Churchill is still highly regarded around the world and we had interest from both the media and from buyers from all over the world.

"It was only the second opportunity to acquire these wonderful items and especially the slippers saw significant interest."

The items' unnamed current owner had bought them in 1998. He said: "I often imagined the great man sitting in his chair with these slippers on and this very glass filled with brandy in his hand."

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