CLEANING out the garage led to an important historical find for a Farnworth couple when they discovered a rare original exhibition guide in the pages of a book destined for the tip.

At first John Quinlan, 65, and wife June, couldn't believe their eyes when the piece of paper fell from the pages of the book as they moved it from their garage.

On inspection the paper unfolded into a colourful poster-sized programme from the British Empire Exhibition of 1924.

Self-employed Mr Quinlan, who recently retired, believes it may have come from a pile of rubbish he was asked to take to the tip but has no idea when or where he got it.

The poster is stamped from Walkden's travel firm of Farnworth and included the train fare down to the world famous 1924 exhibition -- one of the first to make use of the facilities of a then new Wembley stadium.

The poster gives a pictorial tour of the various stands taking part in the exhibition highlighting each of the countries of the Empire taking part.

"It's a fantastic piece of work," said Mr Quinlan. "And because it has been between the pages of a book for so long it is in mint condition -- it's like it was printed yesterday."

He added: "It's unusual because it also tells you exactly what the exhibition would have looked like at the time and who took part." The couple have since had the poster framed and it now takes pride of place in their living room.

"It looks very impressive and it is a talking point for visitors," said Mr Quinlan. "They all ask where it came from but I still don't know."

The British Empire Exhibition is not to be confused with the much earlier Great Exhibition or the later Festival of Britain but was very important.

It was an exhibition-cum-trade fair involving countries throughout the Empire showing off the best of their wares.

BEN antiques expert Nick Fletcher said that anything connected with the exhibition was collectable.

"From the sounds of it, it would be something that would be quite rare and of interest to people who collected memorabilia from the exhibition," said Mr Fletcher. "There were lots of souvenirs produced to accompany the exhibition and things like plates and cups would be high value items.

"Because this is paper I doubt it would be of very high financial value but it would also be the first thing that people threw away after the event so this could make it very rare."

But for Mr and Mrs Quinlan the thought of selling their new found treasure doesn't even enter the equation.

"We are happy to keep in its frame and look after it and enjoy it," said Mr Quinlan.