Half a century collecting toys pays off with €315k

A collection of 3,000 toy cars, trucks, and trains which was built up over 50 years has been sold at auction for £227,000 (€315,000).

Retired car dealer Raymond Hainsworth, 78, did not expect to make a fortune on the sale as he has paid top prices for the highest quality toys that included Dinky, Hornby, and Tri-ang that were not “play worn”.

Andrew Reed of Vectis Auctions in Thornaby, Teesside, said he thought more than half of the 2,000 lots that were sold over three days would now go abroad.

The star of the sale was a black and white Dinky lorry in the Corn Products livery which was produced for the firm as a promotional item and was not on general sale. A collector paid £6,960 including commission.

Hainsworth and his wife Pat, who live in a converted barn near Skipton, North Yorkshire, started collecting when their twins Ian and David were babies. Their first Christmas was spent surrounded by a new train set.

It grew as the couple travelled to auctions and fairs all over the country until the display cabinets took up two rooms of their home.