Paul started collecting autographs 24 years ago after landing a part-time job behind the scenes at The Futurist, in Scarborough where a chance meeting with Bobby Davro ignited a long running love affair with the world of fame.

Paul said: "When I met Bobby Davro he offered me a part on stage and he told me to keep up the hobby. I loved working at the theatre so I took a job in Butlins after that because they used to have lots of celebrities there."

During his time at the theatre Paul met a whole host of stars including Danny La Rue, Tom O'Connor, and Jimmy Cricket giving his collection a kick start before heading to Butlins, in Bayswater in search of more.

While working at the holiday resort Paul's boss recommended him to a London hotel where he was to spend five years working as a stall man and adding to his collection before deciding to return to his roots and set up as a self-employed gardener.

Paul said: "It gave me a lot of confidence being away from home, I had relatives down in London but I didn't want to stay because my family was up in Scarborough."

Some years later Paul received a reply to a letter sent to Carry On star Jack Douglas back in the early 1990s inviting him to his 75th birthday celebrations at Pinewood Studios.

The Carry On star introduced Paul to the Heritage Foundation which aims to combine paying tribute to Britain's wealth of talent with raising funds for good causes through The Arts and Entertainment Charitable Trust.

Paul is still heavily involved with the Heritage Foundation and regularly attends the lunches and black-tie dinners thrown in honour of the various stars of stage and screen.

Frequently being able to hang out with the stars, have photographs taken with them and get their autographs Paul has decided his days of celebrity spotting are over.

"I don't want to autograph anymore, I think 25 years is enough. At the moment I'm working as a part-time gardener and don't want to go to premieres scratched and bruised. I want to be the person who comes to the dos and people say his gardening's going well," Paul said.

Despite taking the plunge and deciding to downsize his collection of more than 90 books, Paul says there are some autographs he would still like to get hold of including Matt Dillon and Dick Van Dyke.

"I would like to think I could keep up the celebrity lifestyle for as long as possible. I try to live and build a little up at the same time, there's no waiting around for a rainy day," he added.

Four books of autographs from stars of such blockbuster films as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, including Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, and Daniel Radcliffe, are expected to reach more than £1,000 when they go under the hammer at Dee, Atkinson and Harrison, in Driffield on Friday April 25.

The sale is to feature in an episode of David Dickinson's hit day-time show Real Deal when unsold items from an earlier dealers day in Scarborough go under the hammer.

Dee, Atkinson and Harrison sale room manager, Pippa Whiteley, said: "It's quite unusual to get so many autographs all in one go really.
"A lot of them he has actually seen being signed which adds to the authenticity and gives them provenance because if you had written to someone asking for an autograph anyone could have signed them, but these have been signed in person."