Star Wars auction fetches £177k
· BBC NewsLuke Jarmyn
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
A massive Star Wars auction has fetched more than £177,000.
The 10-hour "Star Wars Extravaganza", run by Vectis Auctions in Stockton-on-Tees, saw more than 600 items go under the hammer.
Memorabilia included figurines and life-size helmets, with one man selling his entire collection to pay for his upcoming wedding.
Joanne McDonald, from the auction house, said it was "a brilliant day" for "vintage toy markets".
Pre-sale estimates had put Tuesday's collection at fetching between £94,000 and £120,000.
A rare vinyl-caped Jawa figurine attracted the highest bid, selling at £9,180 after fees.
'Beyond expectations'
More than 1,000 potential buyers took part in the bidding process, with some 10,000 people watching the online sale at any one time, the auction house said.
Ms McDonald, Vectis' catalogue department manager, called it "a brilliant auction day due to the amount of international interest in the Star Wars collections".
She added: "We knew it would be a busy sale but we didn't expect it to be that good, it was beyond our expectations."
Vectis said it had three different terminals running at the same time, one for UK buyers, one for US and Canadian buyers, and the third for the rest of the world.
A Meccano Luke Skywalker model was estimated to fetch £2,000 but sold for £7,595, and other big sellers included a Meccano Boba Fett at £8,330.
Ms McDonald added: "There was a mixture of model items, and a lot of the items will be going abroad to international buyers, particularly to Americans.
"What we saw is a really positive sign for the future of Star Wars collectables and younger collectors."