Derbyshire man pockets £900 from sale of unique door painted by Royal Academy artist Humphrey Ocean

Jonathan Rowlands said: “The door went for £900 and will rise in value because it was painted by Humphrey Ocean, a member of the Royal Academy, whose paintings can only get more valuable.

"I bearded the guy who bought it at the auction in Cambridge and asked him what he was going to do with it. He said he was putting a new toilet in the house so he was going to use it there. He hadn’t told his wife; the door has two letterboxes so his wife can post a note to him if he locks himself away!”

The door, which is decorated with a smoking teddy bear logo, was painted more than 40 years ago when Jonathan had a music studio in a basement in Chelsea which people could never find. He asked musician Ian Dury if he knew anyone who could put an eye-catching design on his front door and Ian, who had taught at art college, suggested his former student Humphrey who played bass in Ian’s band.

When the lease ran out on the studio, Jonathan kept the door and stored it in warehouses and his garden shed over the years. Jonathan, who is 84, said the door had a reserve price of £700 at auction and had been valued at up to £1,000 by an expert at Antiques Roadshow last year. He is putting the proceeds of its sale towards living expenses.