£844 for a fondly missed 'Street' star

THE ashes of a cat that starred in Coronation Street for a decade fetched more than £800 at auction - five times the estimate.

Frisky was seen in the title sequence of more than 1,000 episodes of the ITV soap, crouching on the roof of Jack Duckworth's pigeon loft.

The beloved pet's ashes, sealed in a wooden casket with a brass plaque, were expected to fetch up to 150 when they went under the hammer. But furious bidding by Coronation Street fans saw the hammer price rocket to 700 - and with buyer's premium added, the final price paid was 844.

A spokeswoman for Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Gloucestershire said the remains were sold to a private bidder.

Frisky beat 5,000 other cats to the prime-time role in 1990.