A collection of vintage tractors dating back to the 1940s received the most modern of sales treatments when they were part of an online auction.

Stags auctioneers decided that an online timed auction would be the best way to attract attention to the classic farm vehicles.

“We decided to sell the tractors online with an auction which ran from Saturday May 5 to Tuesday May 15,” explained Stags auctioneer Harvey Pile.

The collection comprised of crawlers and tractors dating back to 1941 with many needing major restoration work. The dispersal of ten vehicles from a farm in Dulverton, Somerset, attracted substantial interest with purchasers from Worcester, Herefordshire, Dorset, Devon and Somerset.

“The top price achieved was £2,150 for a 1941 McCormick Deering W-6 in need of restoration bought by a collector from Shaftesbury,” said Mr Pile.

“Following this, a 1944 John Deere Model B was sold to a purchaser from Worcester for £1,910. The sale exceeded the vendor’s expectations.”

Many purchasers bought the items online without viewing them in person.

Mr Pile explained: “The vendor valued security and privacy so rather than having lots of people visiting his farm we just had one viewing time and the key to the successful sale was the videography and photography which were used on the lot descriptions on our online portal. With this in place purchasers could bid in confidence.”