Huge Corgi and Dinky car collection to go under the hammer for £20,000 - 'it breaks my heart'

An impressive collection of boxed toy vehicles, including cars and military trucks, is set to drive up a significant sum at an upcoming auction. The collection comprises of 400 vintage toys from famed manufacturers like Corgi, Dinky and Triang, dating back to the 1950s until the 70s - all gathered by former actor and aeroplane engineer, James Castle, over a 40-year period.

With hopes of accumulating more than £20,000, the items vary from a 1960s Corgi Toys Lotus Racing Set linked to legendary F1 driver Jim Clark - which alone could fetch over £500 - to a rare Dinky Supertoys Bedford 'Heinz Tomato Ketchup' van still in its original box.

James Castle, who formerly worked with renowned British director Michael Bogdanov and starred on stage with The National Theatre in Hong Kong during the 80s, said: "It breaks my heart to let go of my collection, I'm a true collector and as all collectors know you come to love the items like your children".

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His passion for collecting soared during his time in Hong Kong as he explained: "I like the idea of Dinky Toys being a hobby that could pay for itself and on the last day in Hong Kong I came across 500 Dinky Toys, stuffed some of them into my bag and brought them back to England. As this is a truly honest original collection, I hope they find the right person. I will attend the sale with a sense of joy and dread!"

The impressive collection is set to be auctioned at John Rolfe Auctions, close to Tetbury, in a four-day event kicking off from Saturday, June 29.

John Rolfe, the auctioneer and proprietor, said: "We're really excited to showcase this outstanding collection for our good friend James, who is quite the irrepressible character. It's staggering that one man alone could amass a collection of this scale. We have a vague idea of what this collection means to James as he hasn't been home since consigning it to sale!"

For more information on the auction go to www.johnrolfeauctions.com