Ventriloquist dolls and puppets from a lifetime’s collection have been sold at a Herefordshire auction house - some for double their highest estimate.
Stella Richards, from Braintree in Essex, began buying the figures in the early 1960s for her stage act.
They were auctioned off at Brightwells quarterly sale of toys in Leominster.
Now in her late 70s, Stella has recently retired from performing and wanted to ensure the safe disposal of her treasured items after moving house.

Collectors from across the country bid hundreds of pounds for some of the rarer items.
One puppet alone fetched £460 and another, which was estimated to sell for £220, eventually went for £440.
Stella’s collection became so well known that she made a visit to Downing Street to see Tony Blair in 2002.

Posted: 09|15|05 at 3:19 pm. Filed under: UK News.