FORGOTTEN drawings by one of Britain's greatest illustrators will attract international attention when they go under the hammer in Nantwich today.

A cache of signed illustrations by famous wildlife artist Charles Tunnicliffe are expected to sell for around £10,000 at Market Street auctioneers Peter Wilson.

The 18 drawings of birds and other wildlife were discovered at the home of Tunnicliffe's late niece, Cicely Ridgway, in Macclesfield. Some of them were never published and are expected to attract keen worldwide interest.

Pictures by the painter, who was born at Langley, near Macclesfield, were used to illustrate Brooke Bond tea cards and a number of Ladybird books but his best-known work is featured in Henry Williamson's Tarka the Otter book.

The whereabouts of the long-lost drawings have been a mystery since Tunnicliffe's death in 1979.

Peter Wilson painting specialist Stephen Sparrow said: 'These images are truly delightful, especially the black and white illustrations which are extremely rare. Five of them are watercolours and the ink illustrations in some of them are incredibly unique.

'Tunnicliffe was a prolific illustrator of his own and other people's books and these were the original drawings which he would have sent in for approval by the publishers.

'Each one is either signed or monogrammed and bears his official studio stamp, which means they were either never submitted or were returned by the publishers.

'It is quite possible, therefore, that many are previously unseen and never published, making their true worth almost impossible to value.'

The most valuable work in the auction is a study of a waxwing, which is estimated at £800 to £1,200, the same as a group of four ink and pencil illustrations of playful dogs intended for a Bob Martin's advertisement.

A watercolour of Lane Ends Farm, Sutton, near Tunnicliffe's childhood home, is estimated at £400-£600, while a monochrome ink and pencil drawing titled Redesmere, the Footbridge Over the Outlet Stream is valued at £600-£800.

The Peter Wilson sale starts today at 11am. For more information phone Stephen Sparrow on 01270 623878.