VANDALS have uncovered rare and perfect masterpieces of Victorian interior design in a derelict North-East mansion.

The discovery of wallpaper designed by 19th Century architect and designer Edward William Godwin, hidden behind panelling throughout Grey Towers on the edge of Middlesbrough, has led English Heritage to increase the protected status of the former Tees Health Authority headquarters.

The property has moved from a Grade II to a Grade II* listing - putting it among the top 17 per cent of protected buildings in Britain.

English Heritage describe the wallpaper as "by far the best preserved internal decorative scheme" designed by Godwin, who also designed the homes of poet and novelist Oscar Wilde and painter James Whistler.

Wilde is reported to have said with his dying breath: "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."

It is doubtful whether the wallpaper referred to was designed by Godwin, because Wilde described the designer as the most accomplished "spirit of this century in England". Godwin's chairs were "sonnets in ivory" while the table was "a masterpiece in pearl".

A selection of wallpapers from a number of rooms at Grey Towers has been presented to Middlesbrough Council by Country and Metropolitan Homes, which is converting the building, at Nunthorpe, into apartments.