ONE of Britain’s most famous classic cars, the Morris Minor Traveller, has been sold at a Poole auction to raise money for a hospice. 

The traditional Almond Green ‘Moggy’ from 1966 was sold by classic car specialists South Western Vehicle Auctions in Poole for £7,100 on April 25. 

All money raised by the sale was sent to the Weldmar Hospice care in Dorchester and was donated for sale by the estate of Ian Stone, former trustee and vice chair of the board at the charity. 

The car had been owned by Mr Stone for 14 years prior to his death last year and had been his passion outside of his work with the hospice team. 

His widow Vivian Stone donated the car to the charity to raise funds for the hospice that meant so much to her husband. 

She said: “Being a trustee of Weldmar was hugely important to Ian. Shortly after he retired, he joined the board and loved visiting, seeing the staff, and being part of a wonderful charity.  

“When diagnosed he wanted to spend his last days at Weldmar where they cared for him so well, as well as looking after me too." 

The team at South Western Vehicle Auctions waived all fees and commissions so that the entire proceeds went to the beneficiaries. 

Owen Shepherd, classics specialist at SWVA, said: "The Traveller came with a comprehensive history file including old paperwork, invoices, MOT certificates and so on. 

“It also had the original driver's handbook and operation manual. In nice clean condition we were glad it reached above guide valuation, reaching over £7,000." 

Costing around £30,000 per day to run Weldmar Hospice care, all funding provides specialist end of life care to people in Dorset who are living with a life limiting illness such as cancer, motor neurone disease and heart disease. 

Next month, the charity is holding a 30-hour fundraiser 'Making Every Moment Matter' where every single donation will be match funded.  

This year alone Weldmar has an anticipated shortfall of £1million and is hoping that people will get behind their anniversary fundraising campaign. 

The fundraiser starts at 10am on Sunday, May 19. More details can be found on the hospice’s website.