Winston Churchill at Chartwell with the Land Rover that has been auctioned. Picture: SWNS.com

A Land Rover used to ferry Winston Churchill around his Chartwell estate has gone for more than twice the expected amount at auction.

The rare custom-made Series 1 vehicle was given to the former Prime Minister as a present for his 80th birthday in 1954.

It sold for £129,000 when it went under the hammer at Cheffins auction house in Sutton, Cambridgeshire.

The chauffeur-driven Land Rover was even fitted with an extra-large passenger seat to accommodate Churchill's portly frame.

It was used to drive the cigar-smoking ex-statesman around his sprawling 300-acre Chartwell estate, in Westerham, after he retired from political life - and almost 58 years later still only has 12,000 miles on the clock.

The vehicle was used to tow a family's horse box for almost 20 years before they put it away for storage.

The annonymous bidder also gets a log book and a tax disc emblazoned with Churchill's name proving its previous VIP ownership.

A Land Rover once owned by Winston Churchill has sold for more than twice the expected amount at auction. Picture: SWNS.com

Manufacturers also added a padded fold-down arm rest, a lather-clad grab handle fitted to the bulk head and a specially designed foot-well heater.

Churchill's relatives sold the vehicle for £150 more than 15 years after his death.

At yesterday's sale it was the most expensive lot in an auction of 2,000 vehicles, with the second most expensive motor going for £45,000.

Churchill retired from politics in 1955 before dying in 1965 when the vehicle was passed onto his son-in-law, Christopher Soames.

Winston Churchill's Land Rover had an extra-large passenger seat to accommodate his portly frame. Picture: SWNS.com

It was then sold off for just £160 in a farm sale in the early 1970s to a man called Norman Mills.

He had no idea how to get the Land Rover home and asked friend Frank Quay to help him transport the vehicle.

When Mr Quay, who is the current owner, looked at the log book and saw who the original owner was he immediately bought the car for double the price.

Bizarrely, it was then used by the Quay family to tow their horse box for a number of years before being stored away in a shed for safe keeping.