Vintage cars make Wolves hero £500k

Prized vintage cars belonging to Wolves legend Malcolm Finlayson have been sold at auction for almost £500,000.

The former Molineux goalkeeping hero has parted company with some of his collection of classic cars, including a rare Ferrari and an Aston Martin, after a family tragedy.

The Scot, who was on just £20 a week in his playing days, made his fortune after leaving the game - and has now made a total another £473,800 by auctioning off the five motors.

The sale follows the death of his son, aged 39, last year. Stuart Finlayson, a director in his father's steel-stock-holding company, had been due to inherit the cars.

Deanne Walsh from car auction business H & H Ltd, which put the cars under the hammer yesterday, said there had been a lot of interest in them.

"The cars were by five separate buyers," she said. "They sold for well over what we expected."

Mr Finlayson's 1963 Aston Martin DB4 convertible sold for £270,000 at the auction - £50,000 more than expected - after a bidding war.

Other cars that went under the hammer included a 1959 AC Ace Bristol, which went for £155,000 .

Buyers also snapped up the former player's 1989 MG B LE Roadster for £7,000 and his 1977 Triumph Stag was sold for £7,800.

The pensioner's 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS sold for £34,000, under the £40,000 suggested sale price.

It has been 50 years since the former stopper lifted the FA Cup at Wembley, a feat that followed back-to-back championship wins, under manager Stan Cullis.

After training Malcolm booked himself on a polytechnic business course enabling him to go into industry when he left in 1964. The Scot, now 79, is holding on to his Rolls Royce, which he bought new in 1977, a Mercedes Benz, E-type Jaguar V12 and a Saab.

When he announced he was putting the cars up for auction, following the tragic death of his son, he said: "The reason I had kept them was to pass them on to him. Those circumstances have changed.

"I have always loved old cars. I bought my first sports car aged 19. In the RAF I was a driving instructor and was able to indulge my passion for motor vehicles.

These cars were never an investment. They have bought me a lot of joy over the years."