A super-fan of perennial rockers The Who has snapped up a rare collection of pictures taken at Cheam baths.

Simon Harding, 47, drove from Somerset last week to get to the auction in Shirley Hills so he could get his hands on pictures of the gig, taken backstage in 1966.

Mr Harding, who has the largest collection of The Who singles in the UK at 1,160, said he was determined not to let a piece of British music history go to his arch rival abroad.

He said: "There is a guy in America called White Fang and he buys up all the Who stuff, but he wasn't going to get these. I was never going to let them leave the country, doesn't matter how much it took."

The price turned out to be quite reasonable at £350. Mr Harding is about to go and see his 26th and 27th Who concerts in Chicago, USA, next week.

He said: "I'm a huge fan, obviously. The Beatles and the Stones were good, but quite commercial, but the Who just were something else. There is no other band in the world who can produce what they do on stage, and now I have my little memoir of them backstage in their heyday."

Auctioneer Catherine Southon said: "I was delighted to be selling this rare and unique collection of early photos of The Who. The 14 photos had attracted a significant amount of interest, and I hoped that they would have made more money. However, they were slightly water-damaged around the edges and I feel that might have affected the final price."

:: Click here to view our gallery of some of The Who pictures Mr Harding snapped up at the auction.