The anonymous buyer who paid more than £100 for a piece of what could have been the “Turin Shroud” has come forward to reveal what the artefact actually is.

Two weeks ago we reported how Leysdown arcade worker Wes Leonard had managed to sell the piece, which he acquired some years ago, via internet auction site eBay.

Initially, Mr Leonard put it up for £1, but after more than 20 bids and 360 views, it was sold to a buyer from Sittingbourne for £112.

The man who bought the piece still wants to remain anonymous, but has sent us this picture of a wax seal found when he opened the back of the box.

According to him, it is a piece from the robe of Pope Pius X (Saint Pius), who was the 257th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914.

He said: “I took it to an expert in Canterbury who confirmed it is definitely part of the robe of Pope Pius.

“I’m going to send it out to Geneva for further examinations.

“I opened the back but you can’t actually get to the cloth, but there is a wax seal and there are little strings inside it.

“I have absolutely no idea why I bought it, I knew it wasn’t the Turin Shroud but I thought it looked interesting and it has turned out to be.”