An empty 'Peckham Spring Water' cardboard box, used as a prop in a classic episode of Only Fools & Horses, has fetched seven times more than estimated.
Printed on both sides is the famous box line from the 1992 Christmas special Mother Nature's Son, which was seen by 20 million fans.
There were more than 2,000 people watching the sale as the price soared until the hammer fell to £2,200.
Including auction costs, the unknown buyer paid £2,728 for the box, seven times the estimated £400.
In the famous episode, David Jason's Del Boy “discovers” a mysterious water source at Grandpa's old allotment, which is actually tap water from a hose he had placed under some rocks.
He convinces the authorities to grant him a license to bottle the 'Peckham Spring' from his kitchen tap and sell it as mineral water, with sales boosted by a drought caused by the amount of water used to bottle the bottles to prepare.
The cardboard box was one of dozens stored in Del's flat where the illegal venture took place.
It was salvaged after filming by a member of the production crew, who kept it as a souvenir for 33 years.
In the famous episode, Del 'discovers' a mysterious water source at Grandpa's old allotment, which is in fact tap water from a hose he had placed under some stones.
The box features the famous line printed on both sides from when it appeared in the 1992 Christmas special Mother Nature's Son, which was seen by 20 million fans.
She put it in the back of a cupboard of her Gloucestershire home, where it had collected dust for decades.
The box, which is completely empty and measures 13 by 8 by 13 inches, sparked a global bidding war at Harper Field Auctions in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.
Stuart Maule, auctioneer at Harper Field, said after the auction: 'There were 2,028 registered online budders following the sale from around the world, including Australia, the US and Barbados, demonstrating the level of interest.
“It's a timeless show and we're thrilled with the outcome of what could be said to be one of the most famous cardboard boxes around.”
He added: “There was a live audience for the filming of the episode and bottles of water were handed out afterwards.
“But they had no idea at the time that the cardboard box would one day be valuable, so they left it behind.
'The seller, who was part of the production crew, decided to keep the box as a souvenir of the show.
“It features prominently in the episode where they think they've come across a new water source.
The box, which is completely empty and measures 13 by 8 by 13 inches, sparked a global bidding war at Harper Field Auctions in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.
Last year a bottle of Peckham's finest spring water also sold for a whopping £4,000 in Bristo
Millions of people watched the Christmas episode that featured the bottle
Trotter's water brand is proving to be quite a success, being trialled by a major supermarket and supporting people during a local drought
But in the final scene, as the family sleeps, the BBC reports that Peckham is out of water
'They're going to bottle the water and make a fortune, but it turns out to be coming out of a water hose.
“The seller had the box tucked away in the back of a cupboard for years and felt this was the right time to pass it on to someone who will really appreciate it.”
Last year a bottle of Peckham's finest spring water also sold for a whopping £4,000 in Bristol.
About 150 were made for the show and they have made a splash at auction houses across the country.
Another bottle sold for £5,720 in Surrey in 2022 and a third sold for a whopping £14,995.
Other famous items from the show have also sold for thousands of pounds, such as Del Boy's signature cloth cap, which went under the hammer in May 2024 for £5,000.
Only Fools and Horses featured classic characters including Rodney, Uncle Albert, Boycie and Trigger, with the 1996 episode 'Time on Our Hands' attracting a record 24.3 million viewers.
Last week, one of the show's stars, Diane Langton, died at the age of 77. She famously played Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter's love interest June Snell in two episodes of the iconic BBC sitcom in 1985 and '86.
