Worcester Cathedral is giving people the chance to own a piece of it in its first-ever carved stone auction.

The cathedral will allow people to bid on stones carved by its apprentice stonemasons.

Master mason Darren Steele has selected a variety of stones to form 10 auction lots.

These reflect the skill of both past and present stonemasonry apprentices.

Mr Steele said: "It is vitally important that we have stonemasons with the skills to restore, conserve, and respect the stonework.

"It is key that we retain all the characteristics and architectural styles so future generations will be able to enjoy the beauty of the cathedral and explore its history.

“To ensure we can do this, we have had a stonemasonry apprenticeship programme for the last 35 years and we have trained many new masons.

"They have learned their trade here; some have stayed and worked on the Cathedral, and some have moved on to use their skills across the country, and even globally, in the heritage sector.”

The auction lots are currently on display in the Dean's Chapel during normal cathedral visiting hours, and will continue to be so until Thursday, November 28.

Bids can be submitted via a form on the cathedral website, or in person when visiting the exhibition by Sunday, December 1, with the highest bidder for each lot to be contacted on Tuesday, December 3.

All lots purchased must be collected from Worcester Cathedral by Friday, December 13, and the buyer will be responsible for this collection.

The stones vary in weight from eight kilograms to 30 kilograms.

Each stone has a reserve price, and if this is not met, the stone will remain the property of the cathedral.

The cathedral reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

All proceeds from the auction will go towards supporting the stonemason team in their work to preserve the cathedral for future generations.

To place a bid and view the auction catalogue, visit its website.

Anyone with questions about the auction can email Cathy Sloan at cathysloan@worcestercathedral.org.uk.