Centrepiece of auction was makeweight in £5 deal

The 1926 AJS 800 forms part of a rare collection of old motorbikes, which represents the lifetime's passion of dalesman Fred Peadon.

The treasures will go under the auctioneer's hammer tomorrow.

With 14 bikes, the hoard was amassed by Fred before his death last year at 76, and is expected to fetch tens of thousands of pounds.

The AJS is one of the rarest bikes featuring in the sale.

Fred, who lived at Wearhead, in Weardale, acquired it when he was looking for a new tyre for a trials bike just after the Second World War.

A man in Nenthead, near Chester-le-Street, wanted £5 for a tyre - rubber was in short supply just after the war.

Fred thought this was a bit steep, but he agreed to pay up when the owner offered to throw in the AJS 800 for good measure.

The bike, which once boasted a wicker sidecar and still carries its original plate, is expected to bring between £4,000 and £4,500 at the auction.

"It is a very fine collection and we are very fortunate to be handling the sale," said Rory Wardroper, of auctioneers Tennants, of Leyburn, North Yorkshire.

The bikes, together with several vintage cars, have been transported from sheds outside Fred's home to the salerooms.

Another of his collection - a 1951 BMW with Stieb sidecar - is expected to bring up to £2,000.

The sidecar was used during the war by the Germans to carry a machine gun. After the war, it was called a workaday sidecar and was used for transporting materials and tools.

Fred's old Model 20 Austin taxi, which once boasted an intercom between passengers and driver, also comes under the auctioneer's hammer.

What makes Fred's collection even more remarkable is that few of the vehicles ever left Weardale.

"Fred was more a fettler of old bikes than a rider," said close friend Malcolm Sutcliff, who has helped organise the sale. "He liked nothing better than tinkering around with old engines. It was a lifetime's passion."

Fred leaves a widow, Jean.