Floods force £15m aristocratic arts sell-off

Artworks belonging to one of the country's oldest aristocratic families are being auctioned off after they were left with a large repair bill for damage caused by floods near Newcastle.

Around 80 items from the collection of the Duke of Northumberland will be sold by Sotheby's in London and are predicted to fetch more than £15 million.

The treasures include a Roman marble statue of Aphrodite that dates to around 41AD and is expected to sell for £6 million, a marble-topped commode valued at £1.2 million and paintings including a work by Jan Brueghel the Elder expected to make around £3 million.

The current duke said the sale was prompted by "unexpected and momentous" floods at Newburn in 2012 where an underground culvert collapsed in the face of heavy rain, damaging several buildings which had to be demolished.

Also for sale are two letters signed by Queen Elizabeth I and The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, the first book ever printed in English, which dates to around 1473 and is valued at £800,000.

The collection will be offered for sale at different auctions throughout the year.