Mahatma Gandhi's will and sandals auctioned in Ludlow

Mahatma Gandhi's last will and testament has sold at auction for £55,000.

The two-page document written in Gujarati, was one of 50 items of Gandhi memorabilia, including a blood sample and his sandals up for sale.

The guide price for the will, signed by Gandhi in his Gujarati signature, was between £30,000 and £40,000.

His sandals sold for £19,000 at Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire, £9,000 more than their asking price.

The sample of blood on a microscope slide which he gave to a friend after an appendix operation in the 1920s, failed to sell but an "out-of-sale" offer of £5,000, has since been accepted, auctioneers Mullock's said.

A "rare British Parliament paper declaring Gandhi a terrorist" from 1932, which had a guide price of between £200 and £300, went for £260.

A printed illustration showing Gandhi shaking hands with George V sold for £25.

Other lots include Gandhi's bed linen and his prayer beads.

A spokesman for the auctioneers said they were "very pleased" with how the sale went.

The items were sold alongside other important and historical documents.

However, a version of the Declaration of Irish Independence issued during the 1916 Easter Rising - considered to be the only copy in the world - failed to sell.

Last year a pair of Gandhi's glasses with a guide price of £10,000 sold for £34,000 at the racecourse.

At numerous Gandhi auctions around the world over the past decade, the Indian government has insisted it should have the right of first refusal because the artefacts are a national treasure.