Beatles record accidentally donated to charity raises £9,400

An extremely rare copy of the Beatles debut single Love Me Do has raised £9,400 after being given to a charity shop in West Sussex.

It is thought the previous owner was unaware of its value before they dropped it into a British Heart Foundation store in Midhurst.

The original 7-inch demo comes complete with a misspelling of Paul McCartney’s surname, with songwriters “Lennon-McArtney” credited on the vinyl.

It was one of only 250 copies that were made in 1962 and distributed to radio stations.

Preston Davies, area manager at the British Heart Foundation, said:

“Our teams know what to look out for in terms of rare items – so this was like finding hidden treasure!

“We have tried to find out who the donor is but we have no idea.

“However, their generosity means that we can raise even more funds for life-saving research.”

The single reached number 17 in the UK charts, but was later released in the US in 1964 and became a number hit.