Rowling fairytales fetch £1.95m

A book of fairytales by the Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, has fetched £1.95m at auction.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard had been expected to fetch £30,000-£50,000. But there were frenzied scenes in the sale room at Sotheby's in central London as bidding got under way.

Only seven copies of the book exist and the other six were given to friends closely connected with the Harry Potter books.

The winning bidder was the fine art dealer Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox, based in St James's, central London.

All proceeds from the sale will go to Rowling's charity, Children's Voice.

The handwritten book, bound in brown Morocco leather, is mounted with hand-chased silver ornaments and seven moonstones.

A dedication in the front reads: "Six of these books have been given to those most closely connected to the Harry Potter books during the last 17 years.