Bob Gunnell could be the Theatre Royal Brighton's greatest fan.

Not only has he been in the audience every three weeks for the past 60 years but he also has a programme from each performance.

The 80-year-old former BBC researcher, of Wayland Avenue, Brighton, said he had piles of the mementos in his loft - and he would have more if he had kept pantomime programmes from his childhood.

He said: "I have been going to the Theatre Royal for about 60 years, probably longer if you count pantomimes as a small boy. I do, however, suffer from an affliction - I always buy a programme and can never throw them away.

"In the early Forties, the programmes were small publications, about four inches square, no doubt saving paper as the war was still on.

"The cost was three pence - somewhat different to the £3 I fork out today."

Mr Gunnell said he used to sit in the "gods" - the cheap seats at the top. His theatrical passion grew so much he spent years researching the history of the theatre from its days in a barn on the Steine for a book.