Man to sell hundreds of Marmite items for late wife

A husband is fulfilling his late wife's dying wish by selling her collection of Marmite memorabilia.

Laura Walker, from Ferndown, Dorset, gathered over 300 Marmite-related items before she died from bladder cancer in 2020 at the age of 45.

In her will, she asked for her husband David to sell the collection to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Mr Walker will hold an open day, where he will sell the items, on 13 July.

The 51-year-old said the couple had been together for 12 years and he described his wife as "outgoing, bubbly, vivacious and a prankster".

"She was an avid collector of Marmite and has things like specially-designed jars, mouse mats shaped like toast, and a limited edition Paddington Bear that's still in its box.

"I sighed when she used to bring in more and more products but it was what made her happy so I just let it happen."

Mr Walker said that his wife requested that he sell all of the items individually so that they would raise the most amount of money for charity.

"It will take me a while to clear but she had the foresight to know that these would one day increase in value," he said.

There has already been interest in some of the items and Mr Walker said that he received an offer of £250 for one standard-sized jar and he is predicting the rare Paddington Bear will go for over £500.

He added that there is Marmite in most of the jars but some of them have use-by dates going back to 2003.

"I wouldn't recommend people eating it but I'm not a fan of it, so I would say that," Mr Walker said.

He said that he will post the location for the open day on his blog on 12 July.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240.