A mysterious collection of paintings untouched for decades will go on display at a gallery after being discovered in a derelict house.

Trevor King bought the boarded-up house in Beddington with a view to doing it up.

When he went inside he was amazed to find hundreds of paintings that he said turned out to be by a once-prominent artist who left the house in the 1980s to live in a north London commune.

The paintings, by artist Carl G Lawson, had been left in the house, off Beddington Lane, since the 1980s. No one had lived there since.

The roof had collapsed, but the works were kept safe in specially made racks meaning they were perfectly preserved.

The works will now go on display at the Mine Gallery in Carshalton High Street and could go on to appear at a central London gallery.

Mr King  said: “It was dark inside and I walked straight into one of these crates. When I broke them open they were full of these pictures. My mate said to chuck them in the skip, but I thought ‘I don’t know art, but I know these are good’.”

Mr King got in touch with Andrew Candy at the Mine Gallery and the pair researched the paintings. They were signed by Carl G Lawson who painted them in the 1960s and 1970s.

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One of the impressionist works of art left undiscovered since the 80s

Their research found him to be a prominent part of the impressionist art scene in London at the time.

He became reclusive and abandoned the house to live in a commune.

He was associated with the Guildford School of Arts, Camberwell School of Arts and the Royal College of Arts but has since died.

Mr Candy said: “They’re mostly abstract impressionism, but there are also portraits along the lines of Francis Bacon.

“Why he left them is a bit of a mystery, but we plan to display them here and investigate their value.”

The paintings will be displayed at the Mine Gallery in Carshalmton High Street from Monday.