Updated 5.45 p.m.

The violin reputedly played by the Titanic's bandmaster as the ill-fated liner sank fetched a world record price of £900,000 when it went for sale at auction today.

Wallace Hartley has become part of the ship's legend after leading his fellow musicians in playing as the doomed vessel went down, most famously the hymn Nearer My God To Thee.

Hartley and his seven fellow band members all died in the tragedy in 1912, in which 1,500 people were killed after the ship hit an iceberg.

His violin, which had been a gift from his fiancee Maria Robinson, was apparently found in a case strapped to his body when it was recovered from the icy Atlantic waters.

Its re-emergence in 2006, when it was reportedly discovered in an attic in Yorkshire, prompted heated debate over its authenticity.

Titanic specialist auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son insist nearly seven subsequent years of research and tests have proved it to be the genuine article.

The violin - accompanied by a leather luggage case initialed W. H. H. - was put up for sale along with a host of items from the ship at the public auction in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The violin had a reserve price of between £200,000 and £300,000 but was initially expected to fetch £400,000.

The previous record sale saw a 32 foot plan of the Titanic used in the inquiry into the sinking of the ship in 1912 fetch more than £220,000 two years ago.

The violin has been on exhibition since May at Titanic Branson and Titanic Pigeon Forge in the United States, the largest Titanic museums in the world where more than 315,000 viewed it and later at Titanic Belfast, the award winning visitor attraction in Northern Ireland.

SOLD IN 10 MINUTES

There was tension in the room as principal auctioneer Alan Aldridge started the bidding at just £50 for the violin, which was lot 230 of 251.

There were laughs from the audience but Mr Aldridge revealed that he was starting it that low so that two of his friends could bid.

Within a couple of minutes bidding had broken £100,000 had soon passed the world record of £220,000 as the competition between four telephone bidders hotted up.

There were gasps from the audience as the price reached £350,000 and then raced to £600,000. The room fell silent when bidding hit £750,000.

The violin eventually sold for £900,000 after fierce bidding between two telephone bidders. Selling the violin had taken just 10 minutes.