A hoard of royal memorabilia was unearthed by a schoolboy last weekend as he explored the attic at Steeton Hall.

Steeton Hall manager Sally Kellett told her son Gary, 12, that he could go up into the hotel's attic last weekend.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he found a stash of shields and flags, hidden away and covered in dust.

"I just caught sight of the tip of one of the wooden shields. They were totally hidden and then I noticed some other things up there too," he explains.

Gary had stumbled across two large wooden shields, three smaller sturdy cardboard shields, some Union Jack flags and a page from The Mirror newspaper dating back to 1953.

Sally says: "I think the flags and the newspaper are from the Queen's coronation, but as far as I can tell, the others are from George VI's coronation.

"It's quite strange to see a picture of his queen - the Queen Mother - looking so young. It's especially strange in light of her dying on Saturday."

Sally thinks that the items are connected to the last private occupant of the hall, Dorothy Clough, who was very involved with the Guide movement.

"A lot of the big district Guide celebrations were held here and there were some other Guide things up there, so I think the items must have formed part of the Guides' coronation celebrations," she says.

"Ideally, I'd love it if anyone has any memories or any pictures of the event. We just want to piece it together a bit, and would love to hear from anyone with information about the find."

Sally can be contacted on 01535 655676.