Jimi Hendrix's burnt guitar goes for a song

An American collector has picked up the first guitar set alight by rock star Jimi Hendrix for a bargain at an auction in London.

It had been expected that the 1965 Fender Stratocaster would fetch around £500,000, but in the event sold for £280,000.

A delighted Daniel Boucher, 51, from Boylston, Massachusetts, said he thought he would have to pay more for the piece of musical history at a sale of rock 'n' roll memorabilia at The Idea Generation Gallery.

Mr Boucher, who works in the music industry, added: "I am going to play it, I hope some of it rubs off on me."

Hendrix torched the 1965 Fender Stratocaster at the end of his show at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, north London, in March 1967. But roadies put out the flames while Hendrix was being treated for minor burns and his press officer, Tony Garland, stored it in his parents' garage in Hove, East Sussex.

Hendrix later became famous for burning his guitars on stage but this instrument remained undiscovered until last year when it was unearthed by Mr Garland's nephew.

Another bidder spent £240,000 on the first management contract between The Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein at the Fame Bureau's It's More Than Rock And Roll auction last night.