SOMETHING old and something blue - that was the theme of the rare finds the Warrington Guardian discovered when invited to delve into the past of Warrington Police.

Set up by retired Warrington officer Peter Rowe, aged 62, the small museum at Arpley Street Police Station is testament to 25 years of searching for police memorabilia.

It was certainly an eye-opening experience for crime reporter Becky Kelly, who got the chance to step into the shoes of the town's bobbies from the past 200 years - and rather too close to an array of the force's razor sharp weapons, including a selection of swords valued at almost £1,000 each.

Comprised of 3,500 items, the display is a well-preserved archive of the force's history, dating back to 1832.

Mr Rowe has busily amassed a collection of 30 helmets from across the world, including a green Nazi hat, another from New Zealand and the original Warrington Borough Police style from 1898.

"It was really a helmet and belt that got me started on this," said Mr Rowe. "A member of the public came to the police station when I was still a copper and then slowly the old bobbies gave me stuff.

"And it became a full time thing when I retired in 1999."

Dressed head to toe in a 19th century police uniform, the retired officer took me on a trip back in time.

It was interesting to see how policing has evolved, although not too much with the first wooden truncheon used during the 19th century side by side with a metal alternative used by today's officers, one that appeared to be an effective weapon, when he hit me with it during a brief demonstration!

Execution chains salvaged from Chester Castle are a gruesome reminder of the town's former policing policy.

"Just imagine 100 people with ankle chains on, waiting for execution, I even have shackles of people after they dropped to their death," said Mr Rowe.

"A lot of these later shackles were used during the slave trade, which was very big in Warrington."

Meanwhile, a well-preserved copy of Police News from 1888 gives one of the first accounts of the bloody death of Jack the Ripper's fifth victim.

Mr Rowe added: "It's amazing to see the differences with today.

"It used to be a case of mix and matching eyes and facial features to get the image of your culprit, not like modern computer pictures."

The collection looks set to become a permanent fixture when the cells are vacated later this year.

Plans are afoot to make them into a public museum.