MORE than £150,000 was splashed over the course of two days as avid collectors fought to get their hands on prized pop memorabilia.

With thousands of treasured items puled from an Edinburgh warehouse during a recent clear-out, auctioneer Charlie Williams invited fans to the Swindon Marriott over the course of the weekend to show off some rare collectables.

Some of the highest grossing bids included presentations from the Beatles and the original line-up of the Rolling Stones, along with unique art and jewellery.

One diamond ring went for a total of £6,000, and signed albums from the original line-ups of some of the best bands of the last century were on offer to punters.

While thousands were spent on the more notable items, many who came through the doors would bid on some of the more standard stock so as not to hit their wallets too hard.

Mr Williams said the weekend had been a success with a good taking for the auctioneers.

“There were quite a few highlights, one of the highest sellers was a diamond ring, and there was a signed Beatles presentation which went for £4,200 in the end,” he said.

“That had all the original Beatles signatures, and it was obviously sought after.

“They are all collectors items and the same with a Rolling Stones piece, which was a large framed item that had been signed by them all, including the late Brian Jones, so that was the original Stones as opposed to the line-up you would see now.

“There was also a Marsha Hammell oil canvas impressionist jazz painting, which went for £5,500 in the end.”

While some attenders were ready to part with sizeable sums, many others were after the lower priced items.

Mr Williams said: “Everything else went for about £500 or £600.

“Those that were more notable went for several thousands.

"The stock came when we were cleaning out a luxury goods warehouse in Edinburgh and they all came from the same warehouse.

“While some items are still being settled up, I think there was about £150,000 taken over the weekend.

“We were quite happy with the turn-out overall, with probably around 600 people coming through the doors, those are reasonable numbers for Swindon as we do come here a lot.

“Most people come with the intention of buying something, but it is usually at the lower end of the scale like an iPad for a few hundred pounds.”