Terry Pratchett's unpublished works crushed by steamroller

The hard drive 'survived better than expected' after being run over by the steamroller

A hard drive containing unfinished works by Terry Pratchett has been crushed by a steamroller, as per instructions left by the fantasy novelist.

It is thought up to 10 incomplete novels were flattened at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

The six-and-a-half tonne Lord Jericho was used to roll over the hard drive several times before a concrete crusher finished off the remains.

Pratchett died aged 66 in March 2015.

The creator of the Discworld series had been battling Alzheimer's disease.

Before vanquishing the hard drive, Rob Wilkins, the writer's long-serving assistant, tweeted that he was "about to fulfil my obligation to Terry".

Richard Henry, curator of Salisbury Museum, said: "The steamroller totally annihilated the stone blocks underneath but the hard drive survived better than expected so we put it in a stone crusher afterwards which I think probably finally did it in".

He said Pratchett did not want his unpublished works to be completed by someone else and released.

He added: "It's something you've got to follow, and it's really nice that they have followed his requests so specifically.

"It's surprisingly difficult to find somebody to run over a hard drive with a steamroller.

"I think a few people thought we were kidding when I first started putting out feelers to see if it was possible or not."

The pieces of the hard drive will go on display in the Terry Pratchett: His World Exhibition at the museum on 16 September.