NORTH-EAST fans of The Beatles could be sitting on a tidy sum of cash.

Memorabilia from the early days of the Fab Four's fame could be worth hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

This weekend a firm specialising in buying memorabilia is holding valuation days in Sunderland and Newcastle.

And it is hoping that fans will raid their attics to hunt down autographs, posters and concert ticket stubs.

Although The Beatles split up 32 years ago, interest in their music has never waned and some enthusiasts, particularly in the US, will pay large sums for rare memorabilia.

Paul Wane, of Lancashire-based Tracks, which is holding the days, said: "You are talking about £1,500 for a set of Beatles signatures. If it's a signed LP, you are talking about £3,000 to £4,000.

"The Beatles played nine times at Sunderland and Newcastle, which is unprecedented in the UK.

"My guess is that there is a fair amount of stuff in the North-East, just from the response we have had to our adverts and the calls we have had.

"It is amazing the number of people who collected things during the 1960s and put them away in the attic.

"Sometimes people bring things in and there is no real value but sometimes the reverse is true.''

The firm is also interested in memorabilia of the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix (who was managed by the late Chas Chandler, of Newcastle band The Animals), Buddy Holly and Pink Floyd.

The firm's experts will value material and, in some cases, will also offer to buy it.

The valuation takes place today at Sunderland's Mowbray Park Hotel, Borough Road, between 10am and 5pm.

Tomorrow it will be at the Royal Station Hotel, Neville Street, Newcastle, also between 10am and 5pm.