Collector's 30,000 vinyl records up for auction

Vinyl specialist John Silke says the collection is "jaw-dropping"

A collector's 30,000-record vinyl collection is set to go up for auction in Surrey with an expected combined price of more than £80,000.

The sale, run by auctioneers Ewbank's in Woking, will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

The unnamed deceased collector had been buying records for more than 60 years and vinyl specialist John Silke said the collection was "jaw-dropping".

"This has been the biggest single cataloguing job of my career – an extraordinary experience," he added.

A Peel Sessions collection, featuring artists including Jimi Hendrix, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Nico and Stiff Little Fingers, is expected to fetch between £800-£1,200, while a collection of Pink Floyd albums is expected to sell for up to £800.

Mr Silke said when he visited the collector's home almost every room was filled with records, including the garage.

He added: "I rifled through a few boxes and then I took 200 photos on my first recce to try to get a grip on what there was.

"I spent the next three nights just studying the spines of the records in the photos and it became clear what an amazing Aladdin's cave of music we had found there."