PICTURES of a 1907 rail crash near Chippenham have emerged in a lot of postcards on offer at a Devizes auction sale next week.

The photographs of the disaster that took place at Thingley Junction on what was then the Great Western Railway line are among items from a collector that does not live in the local area.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “This came from one of the collectors we normally deal with on Titanic memorabilia. We couldn’t believe it when we saw what he had.

“I think this will attract a lot of interest, both from collectors of Wiltshire postcards and local historians.”

The crash took place on January 16 1907 when the driver of the 6.30pm passenger train from Westbury to Paddington failed to stop at the home signal at Thingley Junction and crashed into the 5pm goods train from Swindon to Plymouth, which was passing the junction on the down main line. Five passengers were injured, one of them seriously.

The drivers and firemen of both trains sustained bruises and burns, though Robert Butt the driver of the goods train and James Kryan, his fireman, were most seriously injured.

The collection also includes a photograph, dating from the same period, of a tram on its side in the middle of Swindon, surrounding by a huge crowd of people.

Also in the lots for Saturday’s sale, which begins at 10am, is a diver’s helmet dating from the mid-19th century, which could sell for as much as £5,000.

A large serving dish made by Devizes potter Joseph Chapman around 1880 and featuring an Italianate landscape is also on sale.