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The auctioneer said it is now the most expensive toy of its kind in the world.

Both items had been in Mr Alexander's private collection in his country home in Heathfield Park and his descendants are putting them up for auction for the first time, according to auctioneers Woolley & Wallis.

The auctioneer who facilitated the sale said the letter had attracted the highest price of any correspondence written onboard the Titanic.

After being stored for more than 30 years in a loft, the sleeve is going under the hammer at auctioneers, Wessex Auction Rooms, in Wiltshire.

These should have been safely in Scotland's archives, not being offloaded to the highest bidder via a bang of the auctioneer's gavel.