A LETTER written by the last British woman to be executed is to be auctioned in Swindon.

Ruth Ellis was 28 when she was hanged at Holloway Prison on July 13, 1955.

On April 10 that year, she had shot dead her jealous and violent lover, David Blakely.

Her case attracted massive protests from campaigners against the death penalty, although judicial executions of men were to continue in Britain for another nine years.

Ellis's letter, to be sold at Dominic Winter Book Auctions in Maxwell Street next Wednesday, November 10, was written while she was on remand to a friend, Joan Green.

Ellis wanted to thank her and other friends for prison visits.

She said: "I must say it was rather a surprise, seeing you all here. I really did think, you all where sic wonderful."

The letter, being sold by a member of the recipient's family, is expected to raise up to £500 when it is auctioned.

Auction house document expert Chris Albury said the legacy of public sympathy for Ellis, as well as her being the last woman in Britain to hang, helped to account for her continued fame.

He added: "It helps that she was a wronged woman."

Other autographed items for sale on the same day include:

A signed photograph of Hollywood legend Joan Crawford, expected to raise up to £150.

A signed photograph of Sir Winston Churchill, with an expected sale price of up to £100.

A signed copy of Paul McCartney's Blackbird Singing poetry anthology, published in 2001 and expected to raise up to £100.

The sale will begin at 11am, and the auction house can be reached on 01793 611340. Its website is at www.dominicwinter.co.uk