The weak pound sent sales soaring at a farm machinery auction in East Anglia this month.

Cheffins said its monthly auction of tractors and agricultural machinery on November 7 returned to its February high as overseas buyers flocked to the sale.

The event - at Sutton, near Ely in Cambridgeshire - netted more than £3.2m worth of sales - bringing it close to the February high when it grossed £3.8m.

Cheffins' is thought to be the largest monthly sale of tractors and agricultural machinery in the world.

The latest event saw around 2000 lots go under the hammer - with half sold overseas.

Purchasers from Europe and Northern African bid on site and online - with sales made to buyers from Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Kenya, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France, Spain, Netherlands, Lithuania, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Portugal and Estonia.

Machinery sales director Joe Page said: “The export market has come back in full force this autumn, as buyers look to make the most of the weakening pound.

"Trade was strong across all areas of the sale, with direct from farm machinery in particular making premium prices.

"As hunting down machinery throughout the continent is time-consuming, many of our overseas buyers were heading to Cheffins as a one stop shop for machinery and tractors, with many buying multiple lots to take back to Europe."

Highlights from the day included a direct-from-farm 2011 John Deere 7930 with just over 4200 hours on the clock fetched £62k and is heading for Canada.

A 2012 John Deere 6330 direct from farm fetched £28,500 while a 2019 Claas 830 sold to a Dutch buyer for £57,000.

There was a strong trade in Claas tractors to European Europe, said Mr Page.

"Supply chain issues continue to be the main driver for growing prices for quality second-hand machinery, as backlogs and long lead times have delayed trade ins for farmers and caused stock levels to take a nosedive," he explained.

"This has led to greater competition in the market and ensured that all quality ex-farm kit is quickly snapped up at auction by either the export market, or domestic farmers and contractors.”

Prices for plant and implements were also strong, said Cheffins.