Composer Sir Malcolm Arnold's letters must be saved, says daughter

Sir Malcolm Arnold, pictured in 1966, won an Oscar for his work on the 1957 film classic The Bridge on the River Kwai

The daughter of an Oscar-winning composer has urged the government to save a collection of her late father's papers compiled during a troubled time.

Sir Malcolm Arnold, one of Britain's most famous composers, won the Academy award for The Bridge on the River Kwai score.

His daughter Katherine Arnold said she feared papers from when he was in Court of Protection care will be destroyed.

The Ministry of Justice said it could not comment on individual cases.

However, it did say there were no imminent plans to destroy the papers, which did not reach the threshold to be put into The National Archives.

Sir Malcolm (far left) pictured when he was one of six composers chosen to commemorate the opening of the Severn Bridge with a piece of music

Northampton-born Sir Malcolm, who died in Norwich aged 84 in 2006, is most well-known for his 132 film scores, including Whistle Down the Wind.

Ms Arnold said legal papers and correspondence from when her father was a ward of court between 1979 and 1986 due to poor mental health could be lost forever to biographers and researchers.

She said she had been told all correspondence was closed, with options to preserve them exhausted.

"It seems to me absolutely extraordinary that there is nowhere that would have them," said Ms Arnold.

"There are file notes from case workers, comments on the quality of care... rude letters about me and the family."

A letter from the Royal Academy of Music on Ms Arnold's behalf, and signed by supporters including cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber, was published in The Times on Tuesday.

Nearly 1,700 people have since signed a petition asking for the catalogue to be put into The National Archives.

Northamptonshire vicar The Reverend Richard Coles said he is "certain" that Sir Malcolm's papers needed to kept for future historians and biographers

Broadcaster and former pop star Reverend Richard Coles, from Northamptonshire, has backed the call and said he is "certain the papers must be saved".

Describing Sir Malcolm as a "luminary of the 20th Century", Mr Coles said: "We have a responsibility to ensure that all the detail of his life is preserved as faithfully as possible because of his significance."