AN AUCTION of Accrington Stanley programmes is said to include some of the rarest to ever go under the hammer.

The collection, amassed by an unnamed fan over the course of a lifetime, covers key moments in the club’s history, from 1932 onwards.

The most impressive piece of Stanley memorabilia in the auction is the programme of the club’s last game in 1962, before leaving the Football League.

The private collection, which will be sold by Birmingham-based Football Memorabilia Auctioneers on Friday, contains 23 lots of Stanley programmes, worth between £70 and £380 each.

Robert Adcock, managing director of the auctioneers conducting the sale, said: “We are delighted to conduct this extremely important auction. Our client has been involved in collecting a long time before it became popular and, because of this, the sale contains some of the rarest programmes to ever appear at auction.

“Accrington Stanley programmes from before they went out of the league are considered very collectable. Lot 190, which is the programme of Accrington Stanley’s last game in the league away to Crewe, has a guide price of £120-£140, but programmes where Crewe were playing anyone else would only reach £1.”

Accrington Stanley chief executive Rob Heys said: “These programmes are a piece of history and to think someone purchased them for a few pence at a game, now knowing how much they would be worth one day, is incredible. I like to think that in years to come, today’s programmes will have increased in value just as much.” The programmes will be sold at the auction at Coleshill Hotel, Coleshill, Warwickshire, as part of an 834-lot auction, containing a variety of football memorabilia expected to gross £250,000 overall. The Stanley programmes can be viewed at www.sportingmemorys.com and bidding can be done in person, or via the internet, at www.the-saleroom.com