Over 350 people attended Symonds & Sampson's latest property auction held at The Digby Hall, Sherborne, at the end of last month. The auction had 26 lots catalogued and ended with a 96% success rate.

Auctioneer Mark Lewis said that this was the highest percentage success rate, from the main auctioneers, in the UK for the whole of May and raised just under £5million.

The properties on offer were in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire and attracted interest not only from the region but buyers also flew in from Spain and France.

Mr Lewis said: "We were showcasing the auction at The Move to the Country Show in Chelsea a few weeks before and, as a result, many buyers came down from London to bid.

"The trade was very strong with a total of 349 bids recorded and it was noticeable that some people came to the auction looking for investments and found the ideal property in Gillingham where we had four two bedroom flats for sale with a potential rental income of £500 per month.