FAMILY treasures preserved for 60 years in a room sealed like a time capsule have been uncovered in Dorset.

Auctioneers have found a wartime RAF uniform, antique pocket watches, cigarette lighters and newspapers from the 1920s lining drawers at the house in Bridport.

The room was sealed after the death of a family member in the Second World War and when the owners became too old to manage its upkeep.

Memorabilia from the room is now set to go on sale to the public.

Bearne's Fine Art Auctioneers representative Sally Bartlett has been asked to pick items to sell.

She said: "The family has been in business in the Bridport area since just after the Second World War but the articles in the house go back to the generation before that.

"The present owners, who are in their 90s, have moved into more manageable accommodation.

"The reason why one bedroom was sealed off in 1947 was because of the loss of a family member and I understand that it used to be quite common for people to literally put a room 'on ice' after a bereavement.

"The family, like many others of their generation, were staunch supporters of everything royal and a Union Jack flag together with 1940s RAF uniform was in a suitcase with other memorabilia.

"A 'Welcome Home' banner from the First World War was also folded up there."

Ms Bartlett says the owners of the house wished to remain anonymous but confirmed they had lived in a three-bedroom cottage.

She said: "The house itself was home to three generations of the same family. The elderly owners had been very active in their day but had gradually reduced their everyday living accommodation to the sitting room, having closed off other rooms one by one."

Newspaper which lined the drawers in a 19th century chest in the sealed room were dated 1923.

The next bedroom was a little more up to date with the drawer liners dated 1959.

There was a box full of antique pocket watches, jewellery and early cigarette lighters.

Silver and ceramics lined the shelves and even some clothing dating from the 1920s remained in the wardrobes.

Children's games and annuals dating from the 1940s, and unused wedding gifts still bearing makers and retailers' names were there too.

The gifts, which included tea sets and dressing table sets and canteens of cutlery, were never needed because each generation used only the articles that were already in the house.

Items from the house will be examined by specialists at Exeter-based Bearne's and catalogued for sale.