A treasure trove of pictures taken by a mysterious Bradford photographer is to go under the hammer at a Lincolnshire auction house.

The images form an extraordinary record of life in England from the early 1900s to the 1920s.

DDM Auction Rooms, at Brigg, have deduced that they were taken by a Mr Foster, from an affluent Bradford family. But nothing else is known about the photographer.

Auctioneer Robert Horner said: "It is a very remarkable set of photographs. We've had some of the plates printed up and they're absolutely wonderful.

"It is clear from the shots of family and friends, their dress, the big motor cars they drove, the places they visited and the hotels where they stayed that they were a very well-off family.

"However, what makes the collection really special is that Mr Foster went beyond the usual holiday, family and pretty landscape photographs. He was ready to point his camera at anything interesting - a gentleman photo-journalist."

They include photographs of a carters' strike, VIPs inspecting the construction of the Angram Dam in the Nidd Valley and the launching of hot air balloons.

Many of the places covered are across Yorkshire, as well as the Lake District, the Lancashire coast and Cornwall.

The 600 glass plate negatives were sitting in the garage of a Hull photographic enthusiast after he received them from a friend.

But he never found time to print them up, and instead sent them to be sold at DDM Auction Rooms.

The lot, which is expected to sell for between £300 and £500, goes on sale tomorrow.