THANKS to his Lancastrian manner and self-taught skills, steeplejack Fred Dibnah became an unlikely television star and probably one of Bolton’s most famous sons.

But, before the flat cap-wearing engineer found widespread fame, he was asked by a then 19-year-old photography student to take part in a college project.

Next month, a selection of photographs taken by Andy Bramah in 1980 and 1981 will be displayed at Bolton Museum as part of an exhibition to mark 10 years since Fred’s death at the age of 66.

Mr Bramah first picked up a camera at the age of nine and was studying photography at Bolton College of Art and Design when he was given a project called ‘A Day in the Life of…’.

The 54-year-old, who has been a professional for 35 years, said: “I used to see him going past in his Land Rover with Fred Dibnah written on the side.

“I used to go out and watch him occasionally.

“I just went and banged on his door and that was it.

“He just welcomed me and I spent nearly 18 months photographing him.

“He was brilliant.”

The father-of-two took more than 1,000 photographs, including shots of Mr Dibnah coming up a chimney, which meant he also needed a head for heights.

Mr Bramah, who was living in the Deane Road area of Bolton at the time and now lives in Preston, said: “At 19-years-old, you don’t worry about it; nowadays I wouldn’t go up a ladder.”

It was while having a loft conversion that Mr Bramah rediscovered the boxes of photographs and contacted Bolton Museum about a possible display.

He said: “They had been hidden away so they didn’t get damaged.

“My mum died of cancer five years ago and she had said, ‘do not let anybody take those pictures but let people see them’. That stuck in my mind.

“I rang the museum about it. They were a bit sceptical at first because they probably had lots of people contact them about pictures of Fred.

“When I took them in, they were blown away because all the pictures were signed by Fred.”

Mr Bramah had 37 made into prints for his final college project, for which he earned a first-class honours with distinction, and 15 will feature in the exhibition.

They capture Fred just as he was becoming famous and were taken while he worked on chimneys in Bolton, Atherton and Wigan.

Mr Bramah said: “They are part of my family history now and there is no way I could part with them.

“I hope the people who see them go away with a smile.”

Did You Like That? Photographs of Fred Dibnah by Andy Bramah will be at Bolton Museum, Le Mans Crescent, Bolton, from Saturday, October 18 to Sunday, January 18.