TOY collectors smashed two world records when they picked up some rare Star Wars figures.

The first record breaker, an original 1980 Palitoy Empire Strikes Back medical droid, was originally valued at £50 to £70.

But as the bids started rolling in yesterday at Vectis Auctions, Thornaby, it sold to an unnamed bidder for £7,000 - a world record for the model at 100 times the asking price.

And the sale of an Imperial Commander figure from the Empire Strikes Back for £3,000 was another record bid, while a Darth Vader action figure sold for £2,520.

Louise Harker, of Vectis, said: “The early editions such as the 12-back cards are highly sought after and even the newer cards in pristine condition can command premium prices. These items all came from the same collection, the Vendor had no pre conceptions about what they would fetch and was delighted with the presale estimates given, we are not sure if he was watching the sale but we hope he will be pleasantly surprised by the final price realised for his items.

“The condition of the Lots is a key factor in gaining prices such as these, the un-punched card, the condition of the card itself and the bubble which the figure is contained within and of course the all-important factory seal, all of these factors add up to a desirable piece, that and of course the collectors, sometimes all it takes is for two collectors to be missing one figure from their collection to push up the value.

“At the moment there does not seem to be enough of these original Palitoy cards on the open market to satisfy the increasing hunger of Star Wars collectors.”