A PIECE of wood that starred in Sixties’ comic film caper, the Plank, amazed experts when it broke the £1,000 barrier at auction.

A frantic bidding war pushed the price-tag up to £1,050 – more than three times its estimate.

The 6ft piece of wood was signed by the big-name cast, including Tommy Cooper, Eric Sykes, Jimmy Edwards and Roy Castle. The plank ended up in Clacton years ago after a family won it for being the 100,000th visitors at an Ideal Homes Exhibition.

The unlikely star of the 1967 hit comedy film was expected to sell for more than £300 when it went under the hammer at Reeman Dansie auction house in Colchester yesterday.

Michael Bowles, of Reeman Dansie, said: “We thought it would fetch £300 to £500, but it went way over. We had commission bids and someone bidding over the internet – it was a really good result.” The plank is believed to have been snapped up by a private collector.