One of Liverpool's greatest ever defenders sold his medal collection this week and raised £137,272.

Tommy Smith, who became known as the Anfield Iron because of his fierce approach during 638 appearances for the club, auctioned 75 items.

These included league title, FA Cup, Uefa Cup and European Cup medals. There was also a full England cap and 20 shirts worn during big games.

Smith, now aged 66, watched the sale at Bonhams in Chester.

He said: "I'm delighted with the way the auction went.

"I've done this not because I'm on my uppers, but because I'm getting older and I need to think about my family and my ability to help them in the future.

"I was really touched by the spontaneous round of applause everyone in the room gave when I stood up to shake the hand of the auctioneer and thank him.

"The fact is, I may have sold my medals, but I have so many wonderful memories of winning them with Liverpool, and those memories will never ever leave me."

Each lot was sold individually. The items that fetched the most were Smith's cup winning medals.

The medal he received as an FA Cup winner in 1965 went for £15,000, while his 1977 European Cup winning medal fetched £14,375.

Other highlights included two shirts he wore in the 1965 and 1974 FA Cup finals, which went for £9,375 and £7,500 respectively.