THE shoes worn by Sir Roger Bannister when he broke the world record for the four-minute mile have sold for £266,500 at auction.

The pair of leather running shoes, which had an estimate of between £30,000 and £50,000, went under the hammer at Christie’s in London today.

Head of sale Kate Summers said: “Since announcing the sale of Sir Roger Bannister’s running shoes, we have received a great deal of interest from across the globe.

“We are thrilled that these unique and iconic shoes have sold for £266,500.

“When bidding opened there was great anticipation – after two-and-a-half minutes of bidding, they were sold to an anonymous buyer on the telephone.

“They are the symbol of not only an historic moment in sporting history, but demonstrate what humans can achieve with determination and persistence.”

North Oxford resident Sir Roger wore the shoes, which have six spikes on each sole, when he became the first man to run a sub-four minute mile in three minutes and 59.4 seconds.

He made sporting history on Thursday, May 6, 1954, at the Iffley Road athletics track which now bears his name.

Sir Roger, now 86, has signed an accompanying letter of provenance which was sold alongside the four-and-a-half ounce shoes, made by GT Law and Son.

In May this year, the stopwatch used to record Sir Roger’s running record sold for £20,000 at Sotheby’s in London to an anonymous owner, along with an invoice for repairs.