AN art lover is reluctantly selling off his highly prized collection of pottery due to the other precious possessions in his life – his young family.

About 80 pieces of Linthorpe Art Pottery belonging to Mike McGeary will go under the hammer at an auction on May 21.

The Middledbrough factory existed for just over a decade from 1879 to 1889 but pieces are highly prized by devotees, because of the rich, experimental running glazes used and its connections with world famous Victorian designer, Dr Christopher Dresser.

“I've lived in Linthorpe all my life and was fascinated when I discovered there's been a pottery here that I'd never heard about,” said the former journalist who now works in Middlesbrough Football Club's media department.

“I fell in love with the style of the pieces as soon as I saw them and between the chance to own a part of our local history and the beauty of their design, I was hooked and began collecting straight away.

“However, with one highly-inquisitive 18-month-old boy in the house and another baby on the way, it's not practical for me to have so many fragile pots sitting temptingly on every shelf.”

After selling a number of pieces to Middlesbrough's Dorman Museum, which houses the world's biggest Linthorpe collection and recently received funding to expand it even further, the rest have been packed up and taken to Thomas Watson auctioneers in Darlington.

Thomas Watson's business development manager, David Elstob, added: “Linthorpe always generates a lot of interest locally but pieces with the all-important Christopher Dresser signature have far wider appeal and are likely to attract bids from all over the world via the internet.”

The full collection can be viewed online at www.thomaswatson.com. For details of how to bid call Thomas Watsons on 01325-462559.