READERS of The Northern Echo have help piece together a little about the life of a mystery artist, whose work went under the hammer yesterday.

Last week, Newcastle-based auctioneers Anderson and Garland appealed for information about artist Ron Gribbons.

Seven watercolours, several of them depicting scenes from Chopwell Colliery, were for sale, but auctioneers had little detail of the life of the artist.

A spokesman for Anderson and Garland said: "We were inundated with information from readers of The Northern Echo, including people who used to work with Ron Gribbons, and the information will be presented on to the new owners of the pieces."

All seven paintings were snapped up for a total of £1,529 by an Eaglescliffe dealership, which specialises in mining art of the Durham Coalfield.

In the same auction, there 60 pieces by North Yorkshire-born Ralph Hedley, one of the region's most popular Victorian artists. One of his oil paintings, a portrait of fellow artist Henry Hetherington Emmerson, went for just over £1,000 to a collector from North Durham.

One of the more curious pieces - a set of cutlery created by famed Russian jeweller Faberge and presented to Wolsingham-born nurse Annie Bell, who worked as nanny to many of the Royal families of Europe, sold for £322.