AN antique clock owned by a Second World War hero of the air has been sold at auction for £200.

The grandfather clock, which belonged to Bill Middleton and was turned into a memorial by his stepson, Steven, went under the hammer last week.

A private collector from the region is now the proud owner of the piece of aviation memorabilia.

Mr Middleton, who died in 1994, was an RAF flight engineer from Consett, County Durham, who flew more than 40 missions over Nazi Germany and was shot down twice.

The clock was built in 1790 and contains valuable wartime memorabilia including the former joiner’s Distinguished Flying Cross, Defence Medal, copies of his flight logs, and a personal account of his bombing runs.

The memorial clock also honours Bill's wife, Mollie Middleton, and served in Bomber High Command during the war.

It was sold by Thomas Miller of Algernon Road, Newcastle.

Auctioneer GuyMacklam said: “We had estimated £200-£300. We would have liked to have got more. It was a busy sale. There were bidders from around the globe registered online, but it is staying in the North-East.

“There was some competitive bidding but it had a lot of history with it, more than some of the other ones so that helped it along.”