A pair of Sir Winston Churchill’s velvet slippers have sold for nearly £40,000.

The footwear went under the hammer on Tuesday afternoon for the first time in more than 20 years.

Dating back to the 1950s, the luxury slippers are embroidered with the wartime leader’s initials.

They were put up for auction alongside a large brandy glass that also belonged to the former prime minister.

Items belonging to Sir Winston usually cause a stir at auction, experts say, and these two lots appear to have been no different.

The slippers, which are 29cm long and embroidered in raised gold thread with the initials WSC, were expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000.

But they smashed expectations to sell for £32,000, rising to £39,040 when including the buyer’s premium.

After strong bidding, including interest from the US, they were purchased by a private UK collector.

Meanwhile, the 21cm brandy glass, expected to sell for £7,000-£10,000, fetched £18,300 including the buyer’s premium.

The items were sold by Bellmans auctioneers, based in Wisborough Green, West Sussex.

Auctioneer Julian Dineen said: “It’s been very exciting in the run-up to the auction. Sir Winston Churchill is still highly regarded around the world and we had interest from both the media and from buyers from all over the world.

“It was only the second opportunity to acquire these wonderful items and especially the slippers saw significant interest.”

The current owner bought the slippers and brandy balloon in 1998 and previously said he would be sad to see them go.

He said: “I often imagined the great man sitting in his chair with these slippers on and this very glass filled with brandy in his hand.

“You can’t really beat that.”