Bagpipes played on the soundtrack to the hit movie Brave have been bought for £3500 by a keen female piper from the US.

Debra Guarriello, from Arizona, bid online for the pipes, which were auctioned by Willie Armstrong of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers in aid of cancer charity Maggie's.

Debra, whose family has a history of cancer, said: "I already own a beautiful set of silver engraved bagpipes, but as soon as I saw that Willie's pipes up for auction I knew that I had to have them.

"The history behind them is awesome and to be able to help cancer patients and their families was too good to pass up.

"My Mother is a cancer survivor of more than 40 years, my husband Ray for more than 30 years and my sister has been battling back from stage four cancer for four years."

Debra said she decided to bid for the pipes when her own band - the Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band - was setting up for its annual Tartan Day gala.

She added: "I was checking Facebook to see what the latest bid on the pipes was and then when we passed the area were my mom and sister live my husband told me to go ahead and raise the bid again.

"My daughter Kari, who is a huge fan of the movie Brave, encouraged me to up the bid so we could have a part of the movie in our home.

"During our band's performance that evening I was afraid to check Facebook for fear someone would top my bid again.

"I was ecstatic when I received notification that I was the highest bidder. I am so excited to be able to play an instrument with such a glorious history and know that I have helped a lot of people."

Willie Armstrong, who had played the pipes all over the world with the multi-platinum selling Red Hot Chilli Pipers, decided to auction his pipes in order to raise funds for Maggie's after he became aware of the work the charity do for people with cancer.

He said: "I knew how unique my bagpipes were, and I knew they might be able to raise some money for Maggies. I'm delighted they went to a good home.

"The common theme was that we were all touched by cancer's cruel fate - my father and ex-wife, and Debra's family too. I hope this small gesture alleviates someone's pain."