Relics from the Titanic recovered from a washed-up corpse have been unearthed after 90 years hidden away.

Alfred King, of Niall Road, Gateshead, was only 19 when he landed a job as a first-class lift attendant on the doomed liner.

And one of the personal items found on his body was his watch - which stopped at 2.20 - the exact time the vessel went to its watery grave.

Other items, including a pipe, a purse and keys, were recovered and returned to his home on Tyneside.

There is also a telegram sent from Southampton by Alfred's uncle, John Bartholomew, telling his family back home not to worry about him because the ship was unsinkable.

But now, after keeping them hidden away for more than 90 years, Alfred's great-niece, Sandra Reavley, is lifting the lid on her family heirlooms, which were part of the historic voyage.

Theatre school boss Ms Reavley has decided to draw on her family connection to stage a production called Titanic - the Gateshead Connection.

Young Alfred worked in the dispatch department of an evening newspaper when he got his job on board the Titanic. He landed the job when his uncle John, a catering worker for the ship, dropped out after getting the flu.

When the ship sunk on its maiden voyage on April 15 1912, Alfred died and his personal items were found on him when his body was discovered.

Mrs Reavley said: "We have got his watch, which is stopped at 2.20, the time the boat sank.

"Looking at what happened to him makes you see it was quite traumatic really.

"I am not a very emotional person but when it is about your family and you are seeing what they must have been through in the final moments, it is very sad."

Mother-of-two Mrs Reavley, of Heworth, Gateshead, said: "It is very exciting holding all the items and looking at them.

"My dad was given the same name as Alfred but for some time he had not wanted anyone to know about the things we had. But when I asked him if we could do a musical, he said okay and I was delighted."

The musical - which features more than 45 youngsters - is being shown at Gateshead's Dryden Centre from Monday, July 11, to Friday, July 15.