AN auction sale of a private collection of vintage and classic tractors and equipment attracted around 2,000 people.
The auction at Fen Farm, Little Hale was ordered by the executors of the late Jeff Reeson, the last of three brothers who had farmed the land since the 1930s.
As well as the collectable tractors, the 867 lots on offer ranged from horse drawn plo
ughs and harrows to Mr Reeson's Mini Cooper, which came complete with its Swinging Sixties tiger print seats.
Will Barker of auctioneers Pygott and Crone said: "Jeff and his brothers operated on old fashioned farming principles. They always looked after their stuff and they never threw anything away.
"They were also interested in old fashioned agricultural equipment and artefacts and they added to their collection with things that they bought at our collective auctions over the years.
"The sale really underlined the fact that if you hang on to things long enough they go through the stage of being old fashioned and out of date to become collectables.
"One of the lots was a pre-First World War thrashing drum. The woodwork was rotten and the thing was falling to bits but it still made £260. It is restorable and if restored it will look terrific."
He added: "One of the big surprises of the sale was the price paid for Jeff's 1968 Mini Cooper. After driving it for the last time, he jacked it up on blocks in a barn and wrapped it up in hessian sacking.
"We thought it might make £4,000. It actually went for £12,000, prompting the inevitable jokes about The Italian Job and had Michael Caine left any gold bars in the boot. He hadn't.
"The buyer was a classic car enthusiast from Peterborough who had been looking for one of these for years. He told us that he had never expected to find one in such good, original, condition."
Twelve thousand pounds was also paid for a Series 2 Landrover, which again had not been run for many years but was in very good condition.
The total value of the sales exceeded £100,000.
