A taxi driver is celebrating after an eye-catching painting he bought at a car boot sale for £40 sold for more than £92,000 - after deciding to sell because the artwork didn't match his new wallpaper.

The London cabbie even managed to haggle down the £60 asking price wanted for the Indian work of art by £20 before taking it home with him.

The 2ft 10ins by 23ins work hung on a wall in his house for years before he recently decided to sell it while redecorating.

He took the painting to an auction house who confirmed it was actually a 19th Century painting of an Indian town scene, initially valued at £500.

The painting of Amritsar, pictured, featuring the Golden Temple in the background, was initially bought for just £40 at a car boot sale, £20 less than the asking price

The painting is a far cry from a view of the Indian city of Amritsar in modern times, pictured (file photo)

But interest in it took off after bidders identified the subject matter as being the historic town of Amritsar in northern India with the Golden Temple, the holiest religious complex of the Sikh religion, in the background.

The artist is believed to have been painter Baba Bishan Singh, who came from a family of painters responsible for maintaining the murals and motifs on the walls of the Golden Temple.

The artist is even depicted in the bustling scene and is seen painting a portrait in an alcove of a building, which drove up interest further.

Potential buyers queued up to bid on the painting which eventually sold for a hammer price of £75,000. With fees added on the overall price paid for it was £92,250.

The cabbie, who is said to be a British Sikh, was 'over the moon' with the result because his taxi was off-road at the time with a flat tyre.

A spokesman for London auctioneers Roseberys, said: 'It was a painting that caught his eye at a car boot sale.

'He had it hanging in his living room for 30 years and only decided to part with it when he redecorated and decided the painting didn't fit in with his colour scheme.

'He was very happy when we told him it could be worth between £500 to £1,000.

Roseberys said interest in the artwork spiked when bidders realised it showed the Golden Temple, pictured

London auctioneers Roseberys, pictured, said the driver was 'over the moon' when he heard the news as his taxi had just got a flat tyre

'But after our catalogue went online it attracted a lot of interest and we had four or five serious telephone bidders on the day of the sale.

'Because the subject matter was the holiest temple in Sikh culture it became a very important and very sought-after item.

'When we called the vendor after the sale to give him the good news he was over the moon and couldn't quite believe it.

'He had been having a bad day as his taxi had a flat tyre but he decided to give himself a few days off after the sale.