A Beatles fanatic caused such a stir when she took Paul, John, George and Ringo on a magical mystery tour of London and a fellow fan convinced her to wave goodbye to them.

Cheryl Tebbutt, 62, from South Norwood, sold her rare Remco Beatles set, complete with real human hair, for £250 after owning them for almost 50 years.

The former sales representative was recreating the famous Abbey Road shot last week as part of a tour of the capital when the collector offered her a price she could not refuse.

She said: “Everyone on the Tube was talking about them, tourists wanted to see them and touch them.

“It was amazing, everyone was going crazy.

“This guy ran over and I could tell he was a real Beatlemaniac. I think I could probably have got double but I was happy to sell to him.”

Earlier this month the South African appeared on BBC show Flog It! but failed to secure an acceptable asking price.

She said: “The minute the dealers saw them at Flog It! they could tell I had a gem. But in the auction they got to £95 and I wasn’t happy with that.”

The authenticity of Miss Tebbutt’s dolls is marked by a stamp on each of their feet, citing their date of issue as 1964. She fondly remembers winning the dolls, aged 14, through a radio competition in Durban.

She said: “All of us girls used to wear Beatles clothes and badges and go to the cinema to watch their films, or just stay at home and dance in our bedrooms.

“A radio programme came on asking a trivia question about the Beatles, which now I just can’t remember. But I phoned up and I won the dolls.”

While she has never seen the iconic group live because of their refusal to perform during Apartheid in South Africa, Miss Tebbutt has been a lifelong fan and found it hard to let her collectables go.

She said: “I’m very sad that my four little friends have gone, but they still remind me of dressing up in Beatles gear and going to discos and to see live music when I was young.”