'It's time to let my lifelong comic collection go'

Many children collected comic books, from The Topper to Roy of the Rovers, The Dandy to The Beano.

But Peter Hansen never stopped, with his haul growing into one of the country's largest private collections of British comics.

Now at the age of 70, he is starting to part with the bulk of his beloved books, which are stored in a barn in Northumberland.

Two recent auctions saw parts of his 45,000 item collection sell for more than £250,000.

"After all this time, I think it's time to let go," Hansen said.

He first began reading comics in the 1960s because they were "just something [he] liked".

As a school boy he rented out his copies to friends, using the money to buy new issues from sellers in his native Byker in Newcastle.

Hansen's father had been in the Merchant Navy during World War Two and later worked in shipyards, a career which took his family to Singapore and Canada, where Hansen later began a career as an environmental engineer.

But while overseas Hansen kept reading and was able to find back issues of The Beano and other comics in newsagents in Singapore.

Many of these old issues were lost over the years but as an adult Hansen started to become a serious collector, tracking down the comics he used to read as a child, while also buying artwork and toys.

He even branched out into North American comics, purchasing some from the late 1800s, and while living in Canada he briefly owned a comic book shop.

"I just thought I'd give it a go," he said.

"It lasted about a month-and-a-half."

He became an unofficial expert in the field, writing for comic book fanzines and interviewing authors and artists at companies such as DC Thomson, which publishes The Beano and The Dandy.

His collection became so prestigious he often loaned material to institutions such as the Cartoon Museum and the National Centre for Children's Books.

Hansen is now preparing to move back to Canada and is selling a huge selection of his UK archive.

The first two parts of the Peter Hansen Collection have been sold by Excalibur Auctions and Anderson & Garland auctioneers for a total of £252,000.

The most recent auction saw original cover art from the 1988 comic ABC Warriors Book 4: Genocide, drawn by artist Simon Bisley, sell for £35,560.

Another piece of artwork by Brian Bolland from Camelot 3000 sold for £8,890.

Parts two and three of the collection are to be auctioned on 20 June and 8 July.

But while most of his UK collection is being sold, Hansen has more comics in Canada.

He has also kept a few of his most treasured items for himself, including first editions of The Beano and 2000 AD, which features a teaser for Judge Dredd.

His oldest son, Karl, thinks his father will continue collecting - just so long as Karl's mother does not find out.

"No, no, I don't want to do that," Hansen said.

"But I'm going to keep what I've got."

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.