AN autographed ukulele given to a great former Wanderers player by comedian George Formby is to be sold at an auction.

In the 1930s, cheeky film star Formby struck up a friendship with centre-forward Ray Westwood, who played for Wanderers and England.

Formby, one of the great comedians of the era, was best known for catchphrases like “Turned out nice again!” and songs from his films such as When I’m Cleaning Windows and Leaning on a Lamp Post.

In the same era, Westwood became renowned for his goalscoring, by netting 144 goals in 333 games for Wanderers between 1930 and 1948.

He was a member of the Wanderers teams that reached the 1935 and 1946 FA Cup semi-finals. He also played in the 1946 Burnden disaster match.

He was capped six times for England.

The two became good friends and the singer gave the footballer one of his famous ukuleles in 1933 — with a message written on it reading “best wishes, George Formby”.

Now Mr Westwood’s family has decided to auction the instrument.

Roy Stokes, from the Biddle and Webb auction house, said: “This is not just a ukulele signed by George Formby — this is a ukulele that he actually played.

“An instrument that has been played by the star is more valuable than one that hasn’t. This ukulele has a great story behind it.”

The banjo ukulele is valued at up to £800 and it will be up for sale next Friday.

During the war, Ray Westwood served with the Territorial Army at Dunkirk and in Egypt.

After his career as a footballer, he became a newsagent. He died in 1982.