An 18th-century haggadah, discovered in a cardboard box, has sold at auction for £210,000.

The Hebrew manuscript, dating from 1726, fetched £60,000 more than had been expected.

The buyer is an Austrian Jewish collector who wanted to remain anonymous.

Bill Forrest of Adam Partridge Auctioneers confirmed: “The buyer wanted his identity to be kept secret.

“With these things, people tend to keep their cards close to their chest.”

It had been hoped that the manuscript would go to an institution where it could be put on public display.

But Mr Forrest said: “It is difficult for institutions to raise the cash to buy things like this, but I do feel it went to a good home.”

The 20-page text was found at a Jewish home in north Manchester, lying in a box that had contained kosher food.

The manuscript, illustrated by renowned Vienna Court scribe Aaron Shreiber Herlingen, was originally brought to the UK by a Belgium-Jewish family fleeing the Nazis in 1940.

It was sold alongside 10 late 19th-century Jewish prayer books.