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A grandfather got more than he bargained for when he sold his £300 statue for over £85,000 at an auction.
Peter Hebblewhite, 77, made a small fortune at an auction at Sotherby's in London on Tuesday with his statue "Telemachus Arming".
Father-of-two Mr Hebblewhite bought the statue a few years ago after finding it vandalised in the corner of a stonemason's yard in his hometown of Chester.
The white marble structure's sword was broken off, but Mr Hebblewhite vowed to restore the 6ft 4in statue to its original state.
Former cathedral carpenter Mr Hebblewhite said he never wanted to make money off the statue but did not want to see it destroyed.
He said: "I had bought the statue to stop it from being crushed into the earth in the old stonemason’s yard. I had never intended to make a profit.
"I said right at the beginning I was not going to let it out of my hands until it was restored.
"It’s sold now but someone suggested it could go back to its place of origin, so I am glad to see that complete."
Telemachus Arming was made in 1835 by Italian artist Luigi Bienaime as part of a trio of statues, and it fetched £82,250 at Tuesday's auction.
It was also featured on the Antiques Roadshow in 1996.
Mr Hebblewhite restored the statue in his back garden, and said he would like to spend his new-found money on a trip to the statue's home of Italy.
He added: "I would like to go to Venice. I have never had a holiday before.
"When I worked for the cathedral we would get a month off and at the time I liked to spend that time with my two children.
"The only time I went abroad was to Belgium to the graveyards with a friend who was deaf and blind, who has relatives out there.
"Neither my wife nor me are big spenders, but I am very pleased with the outcome."
