A PIECE of Brighton and Hove Albion football memorabilia dating back more than 100 years sold at auction for more than double its guide price.

The 113-year-old poster advertising a fundraising night in aid of Brighton and Hove Rangers – the team that would eventually become Albion – sold for £750.

Rangers were formed in 1900 following the demise of the professional side Brighton United. When Rangers themselves folded, the team now known as Brighton and Hove Albion formed in 1901 and took over the mantle.

The poster was snapped up by Tim Carder, chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion's Collector’s and Historians’ Society, after defeating a rival bidder at Gorringes Auction Galleries in Lewes.

Beaming Tim said: “We had to pay a high price for the poster. The hammer went at £750, and we then had to pay the auctioneers’ commission and VAT, but it was worth it to save this precious relic for Albion fans.

“This is the only tangible relic I know of relating to Brighton and Hove Rangers, the club which was the immediate forerunner of the Brighton and Hove Albion we know today.

“On Sunday we staged a collectors’ fair in Dick’s Bar at the Amex Stadium to raise funds for purchases such as this, so thank you to all those visitors who bought programmes, fanzines and books from us. It’s been a busy but rewarding few days.”

Gerald Schuller, 83, from, Brighton, rescued the poster from a skip in the early 1990s when he was passing the Bath Arms pub in The Lanes.

He said: “The pub was being refurbished and they’d put the poster in the skip, so being a follower of theatre I took it.

“I was really happy with the price it sold for. The wife and I celebrated with half-price fish and chips and a drink in Wetherspoons.

“I’m glad it’s gone to someone who will look after it.”