West End 'eccentric's' bizarre collection sold at auction

Bizarre artworks and memorabilia which filled the house of an eccentric collector have been sold at auction for double their estimated price.

Tony Parker, who died in 2019 at the age of 70, crammed his landmark home in West End, Hampshire, with items ranging from fossils to film props.

The 274 lots had an estimated value of £34,000 but fetched £76,000 at Ewbank's Auctions in Send, Surrey.

The firm said it showed the "soaring market" for items from popular culture.

It said highlights of the sale included a vampire hunter's kit, a fossilised penis bone from a walrus and original memorabilia from the TV game show Bullseye.

A full-scale zebra model picturing The Beatles on its flank fetched the sale's top price of £2,800.

Mr Parker's daughter, Fay Capstick, said her father was an "eccentric Victorian gentleman out of his time".

She said: "Really that house is my dad's brain exploded. Every corner captures a piece of his restless and energetic imagination."

"My mum was always, you know, 'There's so much dusting!'."

Formerly living in Worthing, Mr Parker worked as a salesman, as an artist and in recruitment.

The auction firm said the house, with its turrets and gothic features, was a village landmark.

Auctioneer Andrew Ewbank said: "In recent years the market for all memorabilia has just absolutely soared. Things like movie posters, anything popular culture, props, they're hugely popular, really desirable."

Nearly 1,000 bidders registered to take part in Wednesday's sale.