Tag Archives: forced to sell collection

Grimsby man whose house was full of model boats sells 400 of them at auction

Pete Dixon, 75, who spent 40 years of his life working on trawlers as a cook, acquired an incredible 600 model boats over the years which he kept around his rented home on Heneage Road. From floor to ceiling, Pete’s home was full of the boats – he even kept some in the bath because he ran out of space. But on Sunday, the time came for him to sell the majority of these at Prestige Auctions on Orwell Street in Grimsby – and people as far away as Australia, New Zealand and America were keen to get their hands on Pete’s boats. “Pete’s house still has boats in it, but they are going to be coming to Prestige Auctions in the coming weeks. There’s still about 100 boats that are going to be going to auction. His memorabilia collection will be coming in soon – that’s his Grimsby trawlers, paintings, life rings off the old trawlers – there’s a hell of a collection, and we need to sell all of that as well. >click to read< 14:41

Ex-fisherman forced to sell collection of 600 toy boats because they’re a ‘fire hazard’

Pete Dixon, 75, started collecting radio-controlled vessels when he split up with his wife 30 years ago. And now he has filled every room in his three-bedroom privately rented home in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, he has been told it’s a fire hazard – and the boats have to go. ‘When I finished fishing, I bought a couple of boats and I got the bug and started collecting them,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t like to guess how much money I’ve spent over the years, but it must be tens of thousands. It was more or less every penny I had.’ Pete’s boats will go under the hammer on Sunday with Prestige Auctions, which is where he bought many of the vessels from in the first place. Photos, >click to read< 09:38