A MOVIE star has been auctioned off at a snip of a price - just £50.

The star in question is a 22ft-long scale model of a two-masted tall ship which appeared in a Hollywood film starring Jeff Bridges.

It was put up for sale in Wareham on October 12 with prospective owners being reassured not to worry too much if the giant model of the ship, named the Albatross, should ever sink because it has been fitted with ballast tanks allowing it to be refloated.

When the masts are in place the model stands 18ft high.

Bidding at Cottees Auction rooms for the unusual piece of movie memorabilia started at just £5.

It was hoped the ship would make a lot more as the funds are going towards providing Victoria School in Poole with its own mini railway.

But perhaps the practicality of taking on such a large burden - it weights around a ton - kept the price down to a low £50.

The Albatross was built by movie-makers in England for the filming of White Squall, directed by Ridley Scott, telling the story of teenage boys discovering discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.

When the 1996 movie was completed, the ship was removed from the Pinewood film studios near London and the search for a new home began.

Wareham's Russ Taylor heard about it and bought the model to store in his garden shed a few years ago.

But hopes of restoring the Albatross to its full glory were never achieved and Russ was forced to sell it as his shed made way for an archaeological dig in the area.

"I've had the ship for three years but not been able to sail it and now my shed where I've stored it is having to come down," said Russ, shortly before going away on holiday.

He read about Victoria School's bid to build a mini railway around its grounds for children with disabilities and decided to auction the model to raise funds for the project.

Russ said: "I have read that it cost about £300,000 to make the model. The detail on it is amazing."

First published: October 13