A curious cat became the unlikely star of an alfresco online auction hosted by his Honiton auctioneer owner.

Mischievous moggy Buster muscled-in on the action as Edward Whitton, of Whittons Auctioneers and Valuers, conducted the second in a series of outdoor sales staged during the coronavirus lockdown.

Edward said: "Buster brazenly sprawled all over the makeshift rostrum - cleaning himself in full view of bidders from around the globe watching online.

"He then decamped to a deckchair where he sat out the rest of the auction basking in the sunshine."

The two-year-old rescue cat's amusing antics made the front page of the Antiques Trade Gazette and have attracted a multitude of emails and calls from feline fans.

"He is such a show-off, we just hope his new found fame doesn't go to his head.

"We rehomed him as a kitten from The Cats Protection in Axehayes and they are aware of his latest antics and are very proud of their prodigy," added Edward.

Whittons' online auctions are proving extremely popular with buyers.

"During the first auction people said they could hear the birds singing in the trees and sheep bleating in the fields.

"Everyone who got in touch afterwards said we had cheered them up immensely in such difficult times and, whereas nearly all other auction houses have cancelled their auctions, they were delighted to still get the buzz of the sale with a cheerful twist.

"We already had items consigned for auction so we had nothing to lose in still conducting our auction as planned.

"I took the view our vendors would be in more need than usual to receive the proceeds of their items and our regular bidders, who would normally attend in person, would be missing their day out.

"With a great deal of assistance, we even managed to convince an 87-year-old regular who swore he was too old to use computers to log on.

"He ended up buying several lots."

With more bidders than usual, high sale prices and a catalogue of compliments, Edward decided to stage a second online sale - when Buster decided to make a spectacle of himself.

Whittons, in Dowell Street, intends reopening as soon as possible in line with Government guidelines.

Until then, an online-only two-day silver, jewellery and watches auction is planned for 4 and 5 June when among the items going under the hammer are an extremely rare Elizabeth I apostle top silver spoon depicting St Peter, dated 1573, with an estimate of between £3,000 and £5,000 and rare Charles II silver flat-lidded tankard, from 1676, expected to sell for more than £4,500.

The next antiques and collectables auction will be on 18 June.

For further informationclick here for the website.