Madcap collector Andrew Bolt is running out of room for his massive archive, which now stands at 7,000 items.

The local history enthusiast, who lives in Allerton, has been collecting Bradford memorabilia for nine years and is running out of places to store it all. The bulging home he shares with parents Kathleen and Charley is reaching crisis point as his father collects aircraft parts and Mrs Bolt needs space for her teddies, dolls and 1950s pottery.

Andrew's bedroom is stuffed with old newspapers, documents, books and medals, while the overflow is housed in the garage and garden. His collection started when he inherited heirlooms from his grandfather, Horace Varley. He has been avidly collecting since the age of 20 and hundreds of people contacted him to offer him items after his hobby was featured in the T&A three years ago.

"I grab things I see at antiques markets and sales because if I don't I won't see them again," he said.

"I am running out of space. I have got to stop somewhere, but little items keep trickling in.

"When I had my own house I could get in what I wanted, but it's getting a bit tight now."

Mr Bolt, 29, who works for Yorkshire Electricity, regularly takes the cream of his collection on tour, arranging exhibits at Bradford City Hall.

And the resource has proved useful to researchers and local history buffs.

His ambition is to add a Bradford-made Jowett car to the collection - if he could afford it.

And he still regrets the one that got away - one of the original black and gold signs from Bradford's legendary Brown, Muff department store (now Waterstone's).

"It was 27-ft long and would have gone round two walls of the front room. I was close to getting it, but they started talking silly money," he recalled with a sigh. "It's one of the things that has slipped from me."

Most of his massive collection is made up of everyday items, unremarkable in themselves, but casting light on Bradford's past - like official reports of boiler explosions, including one in a city-centre caf in 1907 which led to the death of charwoman Margaret Bell.

A flying piece of tea urn struck her on the head, killing her outright.

"Mrs Bell is tragic, but it's that social detail that brings my collection to life," he said.

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