Members of the public have been bidding online for equipment used during the construction of the A14.

The bid made £5000,000 which will be offset against the cost of the scheme. Highways England said almost 1,000 people took part in the bidding over two days, making offers on lots including solar-powered road signs, storage containers and a security hut.

Among the items sold were a bespoke pre-cast headwall with integral pond filtration unit that sold for about £200. There was also a lot of interest in a solar-powered variable message signs (VMS) and land surveying equipment, including a hand-held data collector that sold for £9,000 after 112 bids.

Digital cameras, televisions, desks, office chairs, coat racks, a drone and a bike shelter were among the 1,000 or so items sold by Peaker Pattinson (Auctioneers) Ltd of Stamford, Lincolnshire.

Ahead of the sale, Julian Lamb, Highways England’s construction director for the A14 project, said the money would go back into the project and “reduce the final bill for the scheme”.

Work on the 21-mile (34km) route between the M11 at Cambridge and the A1 at Huntingdon began in November 2016 and finished in May.