Grisly Titanic ornament fetches £220

A RARE ornament commemorating the sinking of RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage has fetched £220 at auction.

Auctioneer Charles Hanson said the Edwardians "had a sinister way of celebrating disasters".

The shell-encased ornament, inset with shells evocative of the seabed and the resting place of the ship, was owned by an Arnold woman.

It was offered for auction by Hansons Auctioneers, based in Derbyshire.

Mr Hanson said: "It is evocative on the one hand of a world in wonder at such a fine floating liner and on the other astonished by the unthinkable."