A BANK note from the Great Train Robbery, bought as a souvenir by a Bournemouth detective who helped catch two of the culprits, is set to go under the hammer.

The faded fiver, DS Stan Davies' notebook, old press cuttings and photographs taken following the "crime of the century" are set to cause a stir at a Lymington auction on November 22.

Mr Davies achieved acclaim in August 1963 when he rugby tackled the first members of the Great Train Robbery gang to be arrested.

He and DC Charlie Case were on duty in Bournemouth CID office when they received a tip-off from police widow Ethel Clark.

The grandmother was suspicious about a couple of men who had answered her ad in a shop window offering a garage to let.

They had paid three months' rent up-front, all in used 10 shilling notes.

The two detectives arrived in Tweedale Road off Castle Lane West and were chatting to their informant when the two men turned up.

They asked if they could look in their van and the men put up a violent struggle, screaming for help.

Neighbours flocked into the street to watch and phoned for help.

Reinforcements soon arrived and the two men were taken into custody.

More than £140,000 from the gang's £2.5 million haul was found in a Ford Anglia and Austin van bought with cash from garages in Castle Lane and Northbourne.

The Ford Anglia also contained fishing tackle and a copy of the Echo featuring a front page story about the robbery.

William Boal was jailed for 24 years and Roger Cordrey for 20 years for their part in the robbery.

They had been "holed up" at a rented furnished flat above Mould's florist shop in Wimborne Road, Moordown, for several days before their arrest.

A briefcase containing £5,000 was found in the property.

Mrs Clark received a £14,000 reward for the information she had supplied to the police. She died in 1976 aged 81.

DS Davies, who died in December 1991, received 14 commendations during his 30 years with Bournemouth police.

Speaking to the Daily Echo at his Linwood Road home following his retirement in 1975, he said: "As far as I'm concerned it was a routine inquiry which turned out to be part of an enormous robbery.

"I had had a lot of excitement out of my job.

"It is well worthwhile and there is a lot of reward in giving service to the community."

He revealed how he had a £5 note which was part of the haul found in Bournemouth after getting special approval from the Banks to buy one for £5 1s 9d.

Cherry Lund, from George Kidner auctioneers' Wimborne office, said Mr Davies had bought the bank note a year after the robbery.

She said: "Mr Davies purchased the note as a souvenir because he had been involved in the first arrests of the Great Train Robbers.

"When he died it was passed on to his son who has now decided to sell it along with other memorabilia relating to the robbery collected by his father.

"The note is worth a lot more than its face value.

"It is likely to attract a lot of interest, along with Mr Davies' notebook from the time of the robbery, photographs, slides and press cuttings.

"The items are expected to fetch between £80 and £120."

The specialist sale of model railways, railwayana and collectable toys at George Kidner's Lymington saleroom will take place on November 22 at 10.30am.