READERS flocked to Cirencester in their droves as a stunning collection of more than 1,300 vintage books raised a record-breaking £2,000 for charity it just three hours.

Everyone from the ardent collector to the casual bookworm found their way to Oxfam in West Market Place yesterday to snap up the collection of rare and vintage books donated by a generous Oaksey couple.

Long-time Oxfam supporters Philip and Kate Morgan had been amassing the Ladybird books for more than 15 years but had selflessly donated the entire lot to the shop.

By the end of the day, exhausted shop workers revealed the books had raised £2,400 – £3,000 including gift aid – as one person bought more than 30 books and another spent £700.

Bookshop manager Lawrence Lomas said he was “immensely grateful” to the couple for their donation, which came at an important time, with high numbers of refugees and the famine in Ethiopia.

“We took over £2,000 before midday from sales of the Ladybird books. To my knowledge, it’s a record amount for Cirencester to take through the till in one day, let alone just three hours. Given that it was a wet, storm-lashed Monday morning, we were absolutely delighted,” he said.

“One fellow I spoke to on the telephone said he was shaking with excitement to have managed to buy two such treasured books, High Tide and The Impatient Horse."

Customers at the sale included Ladybird expert Helen Day, Professor Anthony Briggs, a relative of a Ladybird history series author, and former Ladybird employee Pat Conybeare who travelled from Teignmouth in Devon.

Retiree Pat Conybeare, 65, spent more than £700 on the Ladybirds, the biggest single purchase of the morning.

She said: “It’s quite an emotional thing coming here. It’s like going into a sweet shop. I have loved Ladybird books ever since I first picked up a copy of Flight for India at the library as a child.

"It’s why I got into book selling. I used to sell Ladybirds across the South West, into 13 counties for 20 years – but it wasn’t really a job, as I loved it so much.”

There are still hundreds of books up for grabs at the shop.

Baunton mum, Rebecca Horrobin, 42, who bought 32 books, said: “My collection dates back to my childhood when my parents bought them. We have over a thousand on a huge bookshelf in the playroom. My children know to take care of them, but they are very much to be read.”