Elvis hair strand sold for £1,055

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A strand of hair from Elvis Presley, saved by his personal barber, has raised £1,055 at auction.

Homer Gill Gilleland toured with Elvis for more than 20 years. He dyed the singer's hair black and then cut it, saving strands in a towel.

Friends of Mr Gilleland said he would then bundle up the towel, with hair inside, and take it home in a bag.

The piece of hair had been expected to fetch up to £250 at Saturday's auction in Devizes, Wiltshire.

After Elvis's death in 1977, Mr Gilleland is said to have started selling strands of the hair in a souvenir shop on the street opposite the singer's home Graceland in Memphis in the US.

The strand which was auctioned was given to Thomas B Morgan Jnr in 2002 by the barber. Mr Morgan worked in the Sheriff's Office of Shelby County and knew Elvis.

The hair, which comes with a certificate of authenticity, is mounted in a frame alongside a photograph of Elvis.

It was auctioned at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes.

In November 2002, a strand of Elvis's hair sold for 115,000 US dollars (about £70,000) in an internet auction.