A FLINTLOCK pistol that belonged to Captain James Cook went under the hammer and sold for almost twice its expected price.

The Belgian-made gun was sold in Edinburgh by a descendant of the legendary North-Yorkshire explorer's eldest sister, Margaret, for more than £19,000.

Experts at Lyon and Turnbull, where the pistol was auctioned, said documentation backed up its origins.

The holster pistol had been expected to sell for about £10,000, but was bought by an Australian for £19,290, including buyer's premium.

A walking stick made from the spear that killed Cook sold this year for £135,000.

The company said it had received calls from would-be buyers in New Zealand, Alaska, the US and Malta.

John Batty, an expert from Lyon and Turnbull, said the explorer's descendant, a 70-year-old woman who lives in Reading, had been sad to part with the heirloom, which had been in the family for six generations.

He said: "It was very hard for her to part with it. I have just spoken to her and she was quite sad to see it go, but they have no one to pass it on to and I am sure it has gone to a good home.

''A private Australian buyer has bought it. I think because Cook was such an adventurer and a traveller, he has always appealed to Australians."

The illustrious life of the adventurer has been well chronicled. His travels ended in 1779, when he was killed by a crowd of more than 1,000 Hawaiian warriors.