A SPEEDWAY fanatic's treasure-trove of memories will not go to waste as they are being made into DVDs.

Michael Bratley, of Queens Avenue in Kidlington, collected thousands of photographs and reels of films from his years as an Oxford Cheetahs fan.

The Oxford Mail reported in May 2016 Mr Bratley's fears his collection, following the team at Oxford Stadium from 1962 to 1985 among others, would end up on the scrap heap as his family were not interested in taking no the collection.

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He hoped to be able to give them away to someone or somewhere that will find them interesting.

Following the Oxford Mail article Mr Bratley was contacted by someone who offered to take them to the National Speedway Museum.

Unfortunately Mr Bratley recently learned that the museum was unable to take on the collection, due to not have the facilities to convert them into a readable display.

Instead, they were handed to Retro Speedway who has taken on the collection to create DVDs across a number of topics.

Mr Bratley said: "I am very pleased.

"When I first spoke to them they were very nice and explained to me how they had come about my collection, after it was taken to the museum.

"They said they are converting them all to DVDs and making films to do with specific things such as riders, or particular events.

"I just hoped to find them a new home where they can be appreciated."

In his younger days Mr Bratley attended Speedway events every weekend, once going for five seasons - about 140 matches - without missing a single meeting.

His 10 albums of some 2,000 photographs, in both black and white and colour, and 40 full-length films document the highs and lows of the sport across Europe.

He added: "I didn't want them lost, this way maybe other Speedway fans can also enjoy them."

For details retro-speedway.com