An eBay buyer got a shock when the item he ordered turned out to be a rare Charlie Chaplin film.

A long-lost Charlie Chaplin film that could be worth more than £1 million has been bought on eBay - for just £3.20.

Antiques collector Morace Park placed the parcel delivery order for a film canister from the online auction site without knowing what it contained, the Guardian reports.

He initially stored the roll of film in a cool box in his garden, but two weeks later he enlisted the help of a film buff friend to view the film on a specialised machine.

"There were seven of us; we were in a state of shock and our buff sat there open-mouthed as we watched images of Chaplin running round pretending his trousers were on fire," the newspaper reports Mr Park as saying.

He was even more intrigued when he discovered that the film, entitled Zepped, was almost unheard of. It was released in 1916 but soon fell out of distribution and Mr Park has been told it could be worth more than £1 million.

A TV documentary about his find is now being made with the Clear Champion production company.

Posted by Sarah Gower.

Article Added: 05/07/2010 10:07:56