Shropshire sheep sold 11 times at same charity auction

A pedigree sheep has been sold 11 times at the same auction, to raise money for two charity marathon runners.

The Charollais ram, known only as lot number 601, was given to the livestock sale in Market Drayton, Shropshire, by one of the runners, Chris Jones.

It was then bought by bidders who immediately put it up for sale again to raise more money.

The sale eventually raised £7,000 for the charities the two runners had chosen to support.

Mr Jones, a builder and farmer who lives near Oswestry, is running in the London Marathon to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation.

His friend, Alex Price, a television director who lives in Shrewsbury, is running for Leukaemia Care.

The first two buyers paid £1,000 each for the ram and immediately put him back up for sale on Thursday.

The auction house, Barbers Auctions, then bought him for £950.

And they were followed by eight subsequent buyers, paying between £300 and £700 each.

The money will be split evenly between the two runners' charities.