A sale ended the year on a high for Sidmouth auctioneers when a ring fetched a five-figure sum.

More than 500 lots were offered to bidders at Potburys’ last antiques and decorative sale of 2016, with a number of stand-out items attracting widespread interest.

A record number of bidders registered to bid online. Extra staff were also drafted in to handle the number of telephone bidders.

The star lot was a three-carat solitaire diamond ring, which was highly coveted. With fierce bidding in the room and seven telephone bidders, it eventually sold for £20,000.

Auction manager Brinley Roberts said: “It was a great finish to the year with brilliant results across a wide range of lots and some exciting moments in the auction room.”

Other lots included a 1961 Norton SS motorbike that sold for £6,200, a three-quarter sized snooker table that fetched £850 and a collection of stamps and covers from Epsom’s Pirate Postal Service, which operated during the 1971 postal strike, sold for £700.

Potburys is staging a general and collectable sale on Tuesday (December 20), its last event of the year.