ROB ROY LETTER IS SOLD FOR pounds 14,000

A RARE letter from "Rob Roy" MacGregor demanding protection money sold for more than pounds 14,000 at auction yesterday.

The note, which dates back to 1724, was bought by a leading Scottish industrialist at a sale in Edinburgh.

Auction bosses said the unnamed buyer was thinking of donating it to a local museum, pleasing historians who said they were delighted that it would remain in Scotland.

The elegantly-written letter is addressed to the Duke of Montrose' factor and appears to make a veiled threat over unpaid cash for protecting cattle. It generated more interest than usual because experts believe it is the only one in existence signed Rob Roy.

The outlaw normally signed his name Campbell - his mother's maiden name.

A spokesman for auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull said a bidding war pushed up the selling price by pounds 2,000 more than expected.

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