Rare paintings found in pensioner's attic

The 75-year-old woman was having a clear-out at her home in Surrey when she came across the works by Australian artist William Blamire Young, which were covered in dust.

They had been bought by her father 60 years previously and kept in the attic as her mother did not like them.

She planned to throw them away and asked neighbour Spencer Wright for advice on how to dispose of them. Realising they should not be consigned to the dustbin, Mr Wright used a Christie's application on his iPhone to research the artist, having spotted a signature on the paintings.

Mr Wright said: "I knew they were something special because they were very old, and in old frames. They were under glass, but you could tell it was oil on canvas."

He emailed photographs of the works to the auction house, which invited Mr Wright and his neighbour, who wishes to remain anonymous, to visit for a valuation.

He said: "This kind of thing doesn't happen every day. When you hear what they are worth, your jaw does drop. I was just shocked because I didn't expect my neighbour to have something like that hidden away in her loft."

The pictures were revealed to be Light Horse and Artillery. They will be auctioned at Christie's in South Kensington, London, on September 23 and are expected to reach between 20,000 and 30,000 as a pair.