Sculpture of 'King of the Fells' sells for £2,100

A sculpture of a late record-breaking veteran fell runner has sold for more than £2,000.

Joss Naylor, who was born in Cumbria and known as King of the Fells, died in June, aged 88.

A bronze resin sculpture of his head sold at auction for £2,100, with the money going towards the Wasdale Mountain Rescue team, where the fell runner served as honorary vice president.

James Moore, head of fine art, antiques and country sports at Mitchell's Auction Company of Cockermouth said the firm was "over the moon", as it was originally estimated to sell for somewhere between £500-800.

"It's more than we were expecting," said Mr Moore. "So to go past that is fantastic, especially with the money going to a really good cause."

The sheep farmer broke the Lake District 24-hour record three times and ran the fastest known times on the Three Peaks, Welsh 3,000ers and Pennine Way.

In 2008, Cumbrian-born professional sculptor, Paul Bainbridge, created two busts of Mr Naylor to celebrate his achievement of running 70 Lake District fells on his 70th birthday.

One of the busts was bought by Copeland Council and is on display at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, while Mr Bainbridge kept the second.

But, after hearing the news of Mr Naylor's death, Mr Bainbridge donated the second to raise money for the mountain rescue.

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