A WATCH made famous by moonwalking astronauts ended up making £3,315.60 for a good cause...after being left outside a charity shop.

The watch, from the Omega Speedmaster range introduced in 1957, was sold by Stacey’s Auctioneers.

Staff at the Sue Ryder charity shop, in Websters Way, Rayleigh, had found it in a bag of donated goods.

It was initially valued at only £350, but turned out to be a collectors item after it was revealed similar watches were worn by American astronauts during Nasa’s Gemini 4 1965 space mission.

More significantly, it was later worn by astronaut Buzz Aldrin during the 1969 Apollo 11 missions, including the famous moonwalks.

Auctioneer Mark Stacey said the timepiece sparked a bidding frenzy when it went under the hammer.

He said: “We had no idea what it was worth. It was only when we started to investigate that we realised how much it could fetch.

“Following a frenzied internet bidder and multiple phone bids, it eventually sold in the room to a local watch enthusiast. It was a pleasure to sell something that is going to such a good cause.”

Mr Stacey added: “Staff at the charity shop do ask us to value items from time to time, but this is the most valuable item they have been given. I doubt the person who left it knew it was so valuable, but you never know.

“They had a person come in with a bag of cash they’d saved up after quitting smoking so maybe it was another generous donor.”

The charity will spend the money providing care for people suffering incurable illness.

Izabela Sypmiewska, manager at the Sue Ryder shop, said: “We thought the watch might be valuable, like most Omegas, but didn’t realise how valuable.

“We thought the best bet was to go to Stacey’s. We do give them a lot of things for valuation, but we’ve never had anything like this.

“It was a nice surprise and we had a bit of a gathering to celebrate.”

The hi-spec watch was initially designed to be used by pilots and divers due to its durability, resilience to extreme temperatures and general toughness.

After the 1965 Gemini space mission, Omega added “Professional” to the dial to reflect the fact they were used by NASA.

It was sold with original bill of purchase and guarantee.