The record for the highest price paid for a classic tractor has been broken when £94,500 was bid for a 1981 Ford County 1474 Long Nose, against an estimate of £60,000 - £70,000.

The tractor was sold as part of a landmark auction by East Anglian based auctioneer Cheffins of classic Ford and Fordson tractors on behalf of well-known enthusiast, Paul Cable and was purchased by an Irish collector.

The Paul Cable collection went under the hammer on Saturday May 12 near Potters Bar in Hertfordshire. Comprising of 38 sought-after Ford classic tractors and piles of implements and spares, the Collection has been earmarked as one of the most important single-vendor sales of classic tractors for many years. Amassed over 14 years, many of the tractors on offer were some of the rarest examples of their type to have hit the market, including the uncommon Fordson County derivatives such as the Super-4, Super-6 and a 1957 Four Drive.

The second highest value tractor on offer on the day was a County 1184 dating back to 1981 which sold for £56,700 to a farmer from Lincolnshire. The 1961 Doe Triple-D was sold for £44,100 and a low-houred 1979 County 1174 which operated at Stansted Airport sold for £43,050, over double its lower estimate of £20,000.

Mainly dating back to the 1960s, 70s and 80s, most of the tractors on offer had been beautifully restored and preserved.