Swift bidding for greyhound picture

The painting was auctioned by Christies

A painting by the famous Suffolk artist Thomas Gainsborough has sold for five times its expected price at auction.

Experts at Christies thought the picture A Greyhound in a Landscape would fetch up to £50,000.

But the picture, which was painted between 1776 and 1777, sold for £243,150.

The painting was originally part of a larger portrait of Miss Sarah Buxton.

It is believed to have been cut into two parts following a fire more than 100 years ago.