Bond memorabilia goes under the hammer

The bikini worn by Ursula Andress

The bikini worn by Bond girl Ursula Andress in the film Dr No was today expected to fetch more than £40,000 at the largest ever auction of props and costumes used in 007 movies.

The famous scene from the 1962 film, in which Andress emerges dripping wet from the sea, came to epitomise the sexy image of the Bond girl and helped secure the actress screen immortality.

Andress said: 'My entrance in the film wearing the bikini on that beautiful beach seems to now be regarded as a classic moment in cinema and made me world famous as "the Bond girl".'

The sale, featuring more than 250 lots from all 21 Bond films, is expected to realise up to £400,000.

The most valuable item going under the hammer at Christie's in London is the 1965 Aston Martin DB5 driven by Pierce Brosnan in Golden Eye, which is expected to go for between £100,000 and £150,000.

The car was one of two Aston Martin DB5s used in a nail-biting chase sequence, during which Bond manages to win over his alarmed female passenger by producing a bottle of champagne from the drinks compartment.

Ingenious gadgets devised by the character Q always play a central part in Bond movie plots and among those up for sale is the Rolex wristwatch worn by Roger Moore in the 1973 film, Live and Let Die.

The watch is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £20,000, while the shark gun - complete with compressed air bullets - used by Moore in the same movie should reach a similar price.

A pair of "JB" monogrammed pyjamas, a matching yellow dressing gown and burgundy velvet slippers worn by Moore in Live and Let Die are expected to net between £3,000 and £5,000.

And the elegant two-piece dinner suit worn by Moore in the 1977 classic The Spy Who Loved Me, which was given to director John Glen by Moore during the making of Moonraker in 1979, could fetch up to £6,000.

A Walther PPK air pistol held by Sean Connery in the poster advertising From Russia With Love, estimated to go for between £3,000 and £5,000, only ended up being used because no one had brought the gun needed for the shoot.

For any aspiring Bond girls there is a diamond and turquoise bee brooch worn by Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny in the 1983 hit Octopussy which is expected to fetch about £1,500 to £2,000.

Also going under the hammer is the Walther P99 stunt gun used by Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies and an Omega Seamaster diving watch from the most recent Bond film, The World Is Not Enough, also starring Brosnan.