ONE of the largest private collections of Zulu War artefacts made £23,000 at an auction yesterday.

The collection, comprising books, postcards and memorabilia built up by Dennis Slack over 25 years at his home in West Cornforth, County Durham, was sold at Anderson and Garland Auctioneers, in Newcastle.

Auctioneer John Anderson said: "It has been like a battlefield with three times the number of people we would normally get for a militaria sale. It has been fantastic.

"Mr Slack was so nervous he could not attend the auction, but he was overwhelmed by the result."

The highest price was paid for a shield and assegai recovered from the battlefield of Ulundi.

The lot, which realised £2,000, was bought by Kevin Warren, of London, who already has a collection of African shields.

An assegai from the famous action at Rorke's Drift fetched £2,000 and other assegais went for £150.

Among the exhibits were bound copies of the Illustrated London News and uniforms, bullets and weapons that saw action on the battlefields of southern Africa.

British efforts to subdue the Zulus in the late 19th Century resulted in some of the most fiercely fought battles in British military history.

This year is the 125th anniversary of the three most important clashes at Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift and Ulundi, in 1879.

Mr Anderson said: "It will be a long time before we can get another collection like this. I have never seen anything quite like it before."