STARRY eyed couple Simon and Anne Quinn are mad about movies and have spent the past few years collecting memorabilia and autographs of the stars.

Now the film buffs, of Millhouse Avenue, Stockton Heath, are hoping to make a business out of their hobby, having seen the big bucks that memorabilia can fetch "over the pond".

Among their collection are signed photographs of stars such as Harrison Ford, Douglas Fairbanks Junior and Titanic stars Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslett.

But it isn't just movie stars who take their fancy - they have also got the autographs of the original crew of the "Memphis Belle" bomber during the second world war.

"It's a hobby that has just grown and grown," said Simon. "We don't get many autographs ourselves, we have contacts in America who send us the big stars, and locally we are good friends with the comedian Charlie Ale, who picks up autographs from celebrities visiting Warrington."

Simon is a big fan of the Star Wars films and has collected together a number of signatures by actors who played bit parts in the trilogy, which he is hoping to mount together on one frame.

And Anne's favourite part of the collection is a book on the film Titanic, signed by many of the cast members and director, James Cameron. "We have no idea how much it is worth, simply because that particular group of people will probably never come together again," she explained.

For Simon, the best items are the ones like the Memphis Belle autographs and another favourite, a print of the Enola Gay, the aeroplane which dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, signed by the original crew.

"Film stars are all very well, but these are part of history," he said.

With the prospect of making money out of their hobby on the horizon, the couple have donated a signed poster of the Titanic film to local video store, Visions, who are raffling it off to raise money for Cancer Research. The poster is on display in the store on London Road, Stockton Heath, and tickets are available to both customers and passers-by who are interested in owning a piece of movie history.

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