Luxury spending spree ends up under hammer

Muriel Hodgson, of York, is believed to have spent the money in shops in York, Harrogate, London and New York buying a collection of designer handbags, costing up to £10,000 apiece, and diamonds ranging from Cartier to Tiffany & Co.

But she was bankrupted following the failure of the business and now the specialist handling the matter, Charles Ranby-Gorwood of CRG Insolvency & Recovery, has instructed auctioneers Brown & Co to sell off the entire collection.

“A few years ago an event like this would have been quite a rarity,” Mr Ranby-Gorwood said.

“But these are difficult times and we are seeing a lot more of these top-end bankruptcies.”

The auction, at Caenby Corner, near Market Rasen, in Lincolnshire, is attracting interest from America, Australia, China and the United Arab Emirates, as well as all over Europe.

Auctioneer Craig Bewick said: “I’ve never seen anything like it, not least because the vast majority of these things have never ever been used or worn.”

Challenor Property Developments, which was based at Poppleton, near York, ceased trading in June 2008, with debts in the region of £2.5m. Four men are due to stand trial next month over a fraud investigation into the firm’s collapse.