THE shoes worn by Sir Roger Bannister when he ran his record-breaking four-minute mile sold for £266,500 at auction yesterday – more than five times the estimate.

The pair of leather running shoes, which had been expected to fetch between £30,000 to £50,000, went under the hammer at Christie’s in London.

After two-and-a-half minutes of bidding the shoes were sold to an anonymous telephone bidder.

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

Sir Roger said part of the proceeds will go to the Autonomic Charitable Trust, a charity which raises money for medical research into neurological conditions.

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