An extremely rare Star Wars Jawa figure has sold for £21,000 at auction.

Estimated to be among only 10-15 left worldwide, it was made in 1978 by the now-defunct British toy company Palitoy, which also manufactured Action Man, Pippa doll and Merlin products.

The price it fetched easily beat the £10,000 – £15,000 predicted by Excalibur Auctions.

The company said it was “one of the rarest carded Star Wars figures in existence on this card variation”.

It was said to be in “exceptional condition” and decorated with the original vinyl cape – later substituted with a cloth cape not long into production.

It was found by the vendor, who has remained anonymous, as he was unpacking various items of film memorabilia stored around his house.

With their cloaked faces, the Jawas’ identities remain hidden, but they are renowned scavengers who scour the deserts of Tatooine in the Star Wars universe for scraps to sell to the local residents.

They notoriously kidnapped the loveable droid R2-D2 in the 1977 Star Wars movie A New Hope.

The vendor was Marvel UK’s art director in the 1970s and received a host of gifts from Palitoy during the promotion of Star Wars in Marvel’s comics.

They previously came across another Jawa figure which sold at auction for £26,670 – again smashing an auction estimate of £10,000 – £15,000.

Jonathan Torode, Excalibur’s Auctioneer, said previously they were “thrilled” to be involved in the sale of one of the rarest Star Wars figures.

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