A 17TH century galleon model, which was restored in memory of its original owner will be going under the hammer in Chippenham at the weekend for the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust.

Max Beare restored the galleon after his brother-in-law Len Furguson died suddenly two years ago and now he hopes the model will surpass its £50-80 valuation at Wessex Auction Rooms on Saturday to honour his memory.

"My brother in law bought this to build when he retired but unfortunately he fell ill and passed away before he could complete it," Mr Beare, who lives in Thatcham, said. "When we cleared out my sister's shed, she asked me if I'd like to try and restore it and I accepted.

"I had to discard quite a lot of the parts unfortunately as the wood had shrunk or broken over the years so I built it from the hull upwards. Len was not a perfectionist but he knew what was right and what was wrong, so I tried to stick to that theme as much as possible.

"Nine months later I completed the ship and it will be going under the hammer on Saturday, with all proceeds going to the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust. We don't have anything like them up here but I first found out about them at Middlewick House and I know Len would approve.

"It will be nice to do something in his memory."

For more information visit www,wessexauctionrooms.co.uk.