A COLLECTION of historically important tractors amassed by John Moffitt, the much respected Northumberland farmer, sold for £500,000 at the weekend.

The auction drew more than 1,000 people and bids from Australia, Norway, Sweden and Ireland. Frenzied bidding saw guide prices smashed and records set. The total made was £100,000 more than expected.

The Hunday Collection was considered to be the most complete group of vintage Ferguson tractors and implements in the world.

The late Mr Moffitt, of Peepy Farm, Stocksfield, housed them in the Hunday Museum which the Queen Mother opened in 1979. Norfolk farmer Paul Rackham bought the 73 tractors and 100 implements in 2004.

An historically important and fully restored MK1 long wheelbase Land Rover sold for £36,000 – £11,000 above the top guide price and a new world record for that model.

The vehicle – purchased new by Harry Ferguson Ltd – was the 13th long-wheelbase (107") Land Rover to roll off the production line and was supplied to the 'grey Fergie' manufacturers in Coventry in November 1953. It is thought to have inspired the four-wheeled drive developments by Harry Ferguson Research Limited.

A beet topper made £8,400 – a record for a Ferguson implement and other highlights included a 1937 Ferguson Brown Type A tractor that sold for £15,000 – £3,000 above the top guide price.

The model was the first machine to have converging three-point linkage and hydraulic lift incorporating automatic draft control – a system now at the heart of every modern tractor.

A restored 1956 Standard Vanguard delivery van with a guide price of £10,000 to £12,000 sold for £18,500.

The vehicle was offered to Ferguson distributors and dealers at a concessionary price of £373 from January 1949 and became the regular sales and service vehicle.

A 1948 Ferguson TE-A20 tractor – one of the earliest in existence and finished in a unique red and cream livery – was bought for £4,000 by the family of the original owner from Guernsey.

A 1943 Ford 'Funk' Conversion V8 tractor sold for £22,500, while a 1963 Massey Ferguson 35X Multi-Power tractor – regarded by many as the ultimate Massey Ferguson 35 – sold for £10,400.

A 1953 Ferguson TEF 20 with mounted combine sold for £8,600; a 1951 Ferguson TED 20 with side mounted baler fetched £4,200; and a 1947 Ferguson TE 20 with game flusher went for £7,750.

The sale was organised by Cambridgeshire auctioneers Cheffins and Suffolk’s Clarke and Simpson.

In September Mr Rackham also sold what was thought to have been the UK’s largest private collection of vintage tractors for more than £1.5m.