An unseen photograph of the real Christopher Robin clutching his Winnie the Pooh teddy bear has been sold at auction for £3,500.

The image of the six-year-old is from an album of photos taken of author AA Milne's family at Cotchford Farm, Hartfield, near East Grinstead.

The set of photographs, which originally belonged to the actor Francis Lister, also includes a photograph of actor Leslie Howard when he was young.

It had been estimated to fetch between £500 and £1,000 when it went under the hammer at Duke's Auction House in Dorchester.

Also included in the lot was a signed copy of Milne's classic work When We Were Very Young.

A pen and ink sketch by Pooh illustrator EH Shepard entitled "Pooh lowers the Sail" was expected to reach between £3,000 and £5,000. It sold for £5,800.

The 25cm-wide piece shows Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and friends in a sailing ship pulled by a horse landing at Toyland. Duke's auctioneer Matthew Denney said: "It was lovely to have an original EH Shepard drawing in the auction.

"These works are, not surprisingly, very popular with collectors around the world.

"The photograph album was much more of an unknown quantity.

"The image is an absolutely delightful one and is instantly recognisable as Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh.

"To have such a personal and previously unknown image for sale was very exciting and this item generated a great deal of interest amongst collectors and Winnie the Pooh enthusiasts."

Christopher Milne, immortalised in his father's stories as Christopher Robin, received a teddy for his first birthday in 1921.

Later, he saw a swan which he called Pooh and, at London Zoo, an American black bear named Winnie. His father joined the names.