A RARE Poole Pottery dish decorated with an Empire Airways Flying Boat has sold at auction for around three times its estimate.

The dish, decorated with an Arthur Bradbury drawing and painted by Ruth Paveley in 1941, had been expected to sell for between £1,200 and £1,500 at the Cottees Auction sale in Wareham earlier this month. However, auctioneer John Condie said that the plate – part of a sale of more than 350 Poole Pottery items – was snapped up by a private collector for £4,200.

It is believed only six dishes of the design were made, including one presented to an envoy of President Roosevelt.

The same bidder also bought a limited edition Barbara Linley Adams Canada Goose for £1,500 – a record for one of these Poole Pottery birds, it is believed.

Of the flying boat plate, Mr Condie explained: “Flying boat operations were moved from Southampton to Poole in 1940 because Southampton was too much of a bombing risk.

“Flying boats were luxury aircraft which flew from England to Australia and Commonwealth countries and were made by Shorts in Sunderland.”

Mr Condie said: “The sale was as good as previous ones and the solid band of Poole Pottery collectors show no sign of waning.”