JOHN LENNON - LENNON JACKET TO RAISE A FORTUNE

JOHN LENNON's tunic - thought to have inspired the SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND album cover - is set to raise over $180,000 (GBP100,000) at auction this week (begs25JUL05) in London.

The military style jacket, first worn by the late BEATLE in a photoshoot for Life magazine in 1966, was thrown out by the IMAGINE star and his wife YOKO ONO when they were clearing out their New York home in 1977, and given with a stash of similar treasures to the Salvation Army charity.

Salvation Army volunteer JOEL MORRIS snapped up the legendary garment for a mere $17 (GBP10), before auctioning it as part of a small collection of Lennon memorabilia in 1983 for a modest $170 (GBP100).

JOHN COLLINS, manager of auctioneers CooperOwen, says, "It's rare for something like this to come up.

"Most of John's stuff, Yoko's got. PAUL MCCARTNEY kept all of his stuff.

"The only reason why some of John's stuff is out there is because he was very generous and gave things away."

The upcoming auction (29JUL05) is expected to raise $2 million (GBP1 million) altogether from the sale of Lennon gems - which includes a handwritten ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE manuscript and a bedspread from his notorious "bed-in" for peace.