THE world's biggest ever toy sale began yesterday with thousands of toys sold.

Auctioneers at Vectis, at Thornaby, Teesside, expect to sell nearly 8,000 toys during the three-day sale.

About £120,000 worth of toys were snapped up on the first day, with nearly 5,000 collectors taking part on the Internet.

Sale of the day was a large collection of signs and stickers of car models - including a sign which said 'I Got a Tiger in my Tank' - which sold for £2,800. A Weetabix Guy van went for £1,600.

Andy Reed, auctioneer, said Vectis expected to easily surpass the £250,000 target for the mammoth three-day sale.

He said: "It was a superb start. We had people from all over the world taking part, Australia, New Zealand, the US you name it. The sale of the stickers was especially exciting."

Mr Reed said many toys had doubled in price in the past ten years and some had quadrupled.

The auction, at Thornaby Industrial Park, ends tomorrow