Serial killer Mary Ann Cotton's documents sell for £2,600

The documents went under the hammer at Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn, North Yorkshire

Documents relating to the execution of a Victorian serial killer have sold for £2,600 at auction.

Mary Ann Cotton, from West Auckland, County Durham, was hanged in prison in 1873 for poisoning her stepson.

It is also believed she killed three husbands, 10 children, her mother and a lover, collecting their life insurance.

The lot, which included a telegram dated 22 March 1873, confirming her execution, was only expected to fetch between £400 and £500.

Mary Ann Cotton was hanged in March 1873