Criminal Jesse James's pistol set to fetch 1mln pounds at auction

Criminal Jesse James's pistol has gone up for sale and is expected to fetch more than 1 million pounds at auction.

The Colt .45 revolver was the favourite weapon of the notorious outlaw, who terrorized America's Mid-West in the 19th Century, the Daily Express reported.

After the Civil War, he gained a celebrity like status by holding up banks, stagecoaches and trains with his gang of bandits.

However, he was shot dead at the age of 34 by Bob Ford, a gang member who was secretly hired as a hitman by the Missouri state governor, Thomas Crittenden.

The pistol was then passed to his son, Jesse Junior who further passed it on to a doctor as a bond after he was hurt in a car crash.

Congressman Frank Boykin owned the pistol until 1975 when he sold it to a US collector.

Bidding will start at 250,000 pounds in Los Angeles on November 24.