A pair of glasses which once belonged to Mahatma Gandhi has attracted attention from collectors around the world after being left in a Bristol auctioneer's letterbox.
The glasses, expected to fetch more than £15,000, were found in a plain envelope by staff at East Bristol Auctions in Hanham.
Auctioneer Andrew Stowe said the envelope was ' literally hanging out' of their letterbox for an entire weekend.
"It was left in the letterbox very precariously," he told Bristol Live . "It was left there all weekend which is quite a scary thought."
Mr Stowe said there was a note which came with the gold-plated, circular rimmed glasses which said they had been worn by Gandhi himself.
He added the glasses had been handed down from generation to generation in the owner's family, after his uncle met the Indian civil rights leader on a visit to South Africa in the 1920s.
"We made sure the dates and the story from the note matched up," Mr Stowe said. "There's also a pair in another museum which are identical to these ones.
"The glasses also have a particular nose bridge which is quite distorted and unique to Gandhi's glasses."
Since the auctioneers confirmed the glasses did indeed belong to Gandhi, the team have been contacted by potential buyers from all around the world.
"There's been a lot of interest in India - obviously Gandhi is a huge part of their culture over there," Mr Stowe said.
"I'd be very surprised if it's sold anywhere else other than India but we've also had collectors from Canada, America and Europe get in touch."
The glasses will be sold during a online-only auction on August 21.
