The director of Oxford’s Bodleian Library has slammed “shortsighted” plans to destroy thousands of wills.

Richard Ovenden criticised proposals to digitise and then destroy the paper copies of historical wills as “foolhardy”.

His comments came after the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) launched a consultation on the controversial plan, which has been criticised by historians.

READ MORE: East Hanney Christmas Day fatal crash on A338 near Frilford

Mr Ovenden, who was appointed to his role at the Bodleian in 2014, said it risked robbing future generations of valuable research material.

In a column in the Financial Times, he wrote: “Huge amounts can be gleaned from the paper or parchment and inks used, or from seals, stamps and other additional interventions.

“Even the way a sheet of paper is folded is revealing.”

The proposals would digitise about 100m paper originals of the last wills and testaments of British people dating back more than 150 years in an effort to save £4.5m a year.

The original copies of famous wills, such as those of Diana, Princess of Wales, Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin, would be kept.

But others would be digitised and thrown away after 25 years.

The MOJ said the proposals were subject to change.

It said digitisation would give historians and families quicker access to historical wills.

The Bodleian, which dates back to 1602, is one of six libraries that keeps a copy of every book published in the UK.