A shorn lock of John Lennon's hair fetched £24,000 at auction today as part of a sale of Beatles memorabilia built up by a former hairdresser to the Fab Four.

The hair was sold to an unnamed telephone bidder as the highlight of a sale of the Betty Glasow collection of Beatles and film memorabilia held at Gorringes auction house in Worthing.

Accompanying the lock, which is stuck in a copy of Lennon's 1965 book A Spaniard In The Works, is a hand-written message which reads: "To Betty, lots of love and hair, from John Lennon xx."

Recently retired Mrs Glasow, who lives near Worthing, was given the strands of hair having groomed the band's famous moptop styles on their films a Hard Day's Night and Help in the 1960s.

The lot was given a guide price of between £2,000 to £3,000 but bidding spiralled.

Francesca Collin, of Gorringes, said: "It is astonishing that there is still so much interest in the Beatles and the sale goes to prove that John Lennon is still an icon.

"To have some of Lennon's hair along with a signed note from him really does give it fantastic provenance and authenticity.

"Collections of this kind are rare and the hair in particular is a real one-off for Beatles collectors. Betty kept their moptops in trim and over time they became quite attached to her."

It is said that Mrs Glasow, who is in her 70s, was privy to a number of the Beatles' secrets, with George Harrison apparently having a very dry scalp.

Other mementoes under the hammer as part of the collection include pictures dedicated to Mrs Glasow such as one signed by George "Dandruff" Harrison which fetched £6,500.

Her collection also features signed pictures and personal messages amassed over a career stretching back to the 1950s, including from Michael Caine from Educating Rita, Peter Ustinov from Death on the Nile and Steve McQueen from The War Lover.

All of the winning bidders also had to pay a buyer's premium of 17.5 per cent on top of the hammer price.