A PICTURE depicting a North-East scene has been sold for more than £100,000.

The oil painting of Hartlepool's Headland was the work of LS Lowry, famous for his pictures of matchstick men.

It was sold recently at Sotheby's, in London, on behalf of a private seller for almost double the asking price of £60,000.

Fierce bidding led to the price going up to £108,640. The painting was secured by an unnamed bidder.

The picture was painted by Laurence Stephen Lowry in 1970, when he was 83.

The world-famous artist often visited the Headland and other areas, often industrial, across the North-East on holidays. However he is best known for his work in his native North-West.

Another Lowry painting of the Headland called The Front is owned by the people of Hartlepool.

The 1969 work is kept by Hartlepool Borough Council and depicts View Terrace. It was bought with public money in 1978, partly through a grant from the national Victoria and Albert Museum Fund.

The council has declined to say how much it paid for it or what it is worth.