IMAGES from a bygone era in the North-East are captured in a collection of 10,000 pictures taken by a North-East photographer.

From the 1920s to the 1960s, Frank Bell photographed everything from theatrical shots of the stars of the day appearing at theatres across the region, to images of people's daily lives, animals, flowers, and body-building competitions.

Mr Bell held the Mr Britain and Mr North East body-building titles before the Second World War, when he joined the Army as a physical training instructor.

After the war he moved to Greenbank Road, Darlington, where he lived until his death three years ago, aged 81.

Mr Bell's son, Trevor, still lives at the house where some of the stars of the day, including Tommy Cooper and Tommy Steele, stayed while appearing at Darlington's Civic Theatre.

Mr Bell Jr still has the guest book some of them signed.

He said: "My father invited anyone he was taking pictures of to stay at the house if they were performing at the theatres, from dancing girls to Tommy Cooper.

"He was good friends with Charlie Drake and Morcambe and Wise, and some of them signed a visitor book."

While Mr Bell knew thousands of his father's negatives existed, the task of going through them was a long one.

"He always said they would be worth something, but they were covered in dust and when he died we decided we would have to go through them.

"It took weeks to go through them all."

Mr Bell's father had a number of cameras over the years, from old wooden German and Russian models to a Pentax.

The collection provides an insight into local people's lives, from milkmen and chimney sweeps, the railways and factories, to weddings and even the street parties to celebrate the Queen's coronation.