£2.5 m for bachelor's collection

A Paris collector paid £82,000 for the 16th Century charger

A three-day auction of a Norfolk bachelor's lifetime collection of antiques has made almost £2.5m.

Bryan Hall, 82, spent his life collecting antique paintings and furniture but decided to sell it all because of ill-health.

His collection, which took 70 years to put together, was sold by Bonhams at his home, Banningham Old Rectory.

The auction of 2,500 pieces, which ended on Wednesday, made more than twice the £1m auctioneers' estimate.

The top price was paid by a Paris collector by telephone for a 16th Century Italian charger which made £82,000.

Andrew Jones, of Bonhams, said the quirkiest moment had been when one woman went to pay for her piece - and did not have a clue what she had bought.

"It's been a fantastic day - I think Bryan will be absolutely delighted and somewhat amused by the price of things he paid very little for," he said.