Historic parish records from South America dating back almost 250 years have turned up in Bradford - but no-one can quite understand how.

The records, from a Jesuit church in the town of San Jose De Chiquitos in Bolivia, were unearthed by a Bradford couple as they unpacked a trunk that had been in storage for 20 years.

Now the Reverend Chris Howson and wife Catriona, of Ash Grove, near the University of Bradford, plan to hand the heirloom back to the people of Bolivia.

On Saturday, a representative from the Bolivian embassy will pick up the well-travelled, leather-bound documents, which contain records of births and marriages from 1762.

Mrs Howson, who was born in Uruguay, said: "We really don't know how they ended up in this trunk in our possession. There's a slight possibility my great grandfather might have picked them up when he lived in Argentina because there were Jesuits there as well.

"It's possible a priest could have gone from Bolivia to Argentina and that's how they got there. We don't know if these records were given for safe keeping or bought."

Priests of the Society of Jesus - or Jesuits - developed a series of missions in what is now Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. One of the most impressive in South America is in San Jose De Chiquitos, the town where the records were written.

The massive tower in the historic town, completed eight years before the records were drawn up, has been lovingly protected by residents for centuries.

Mrs Howson said: "We don't feel we have any right to the records, really, so we want to give them back to the Bolivian people."

She said the documents, below, had come to light when she was unpacking a case she had inherited, which had been in storage for two decades.

"It was amazing. I was so surprised to find them," she said. "It's all in really flowery handwriting, written with quills in archaic Spanish, so it's quite difficult to read in places.

"There are five leather-bound books, including a baptism book, another with a long record of names and a diary."

Pablo Ossio, the acting Bolivian ambassador in the UK, said he was delighted the documents would be returning to their place of origin.

He said: "I have been in touch with the people who are donating these documents. These people really respect other cultures by returning the original documents to the original owners. Their only request was that they should go to San Jose De Chiquitos so the people of the small place that owns them will benefit.

"We don't know the extent and importance of them yet because we haven't read them but we are certainly going to send them back to Bolivia.

"Bolivian people are very proud of their heritage and this will help us."

Mr Howson said: "Having researched the area where they come from, we realise it's a really beautiful place.

"When we found out the history, even though they were family heirlooms we thought it would be much nicer to get them back where they belong.

"When we are next in South America, we will take a journey and visit this town."

e-mail: will.kilner@bradford.newsquest.co.uk