The former British Rail pension fund has sold the last of a portfolio of works of art bought in the 1970s to protect its members from the ravages of inflation.

The item, sold at auction to a private buyer, is a classical brass statue of the Greek god Poseidon. Peter Murray, chairman of the £12bn (€17.3bn) railways pension scheme (Railpen), declined to reveal the price the statue fetched. However, similar statues have changed hands for millions of pounds.