Churchill cigar stump sold for more than $7,000

A cigar stump discarded by Winston Churchill has been sold at an auction for 4,500 pounds ($7,192), media reports said Saturday.

The former British prime minister hastily stubbed out the cigar in 1941 when he had to rush to a cabinet meeting, the auction house Keys said.

The 10-centimetre stump was saved by a servant at 10 Downing Street and later given to a friend as a gift. A relative took possession of it after the man died.

The cigar fetched 10 times more than expected.

Churchill, a passionate cigar smoker, served two terms as prime minister between 1940 and 1955.