A million-pound movie memorabilia collection that “fills a warehouse” is being sold by a Swindon superfan who rubbed shoulders with movie stars.

Luke Kaye, who changed his name by deed pole to Luke Skywalker, ran Skywalkers costume shop in Swindon while supplying props and outfits to film studios.

He counts Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca and Darth Vader actors Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew and David Prowse as friends who would gift him prize treasures for his trove, which the Daily Mail reported to be worth £1 million in 2010.(Image: Dave Cox)

Luke once held a Guinness world record for amassing the UK's largest Star Wars memorabilia collection - but years later he is selling hundreds of rare objects at auction in Wiltshire. 

He said: “You have to see it to believe it. I have so many amazing pieces.

“I've got all the film posters. They're signed by the whole cast and like eight or nine members of them are dead. So you cannot get this stuff again.”Luke Kaye owned Skywalkers costume hire in Faringdon RoadLuke Kaye owned Skywalkers costume hire in Faringdon Road

He names Batmobiles, DeLoreans, signed motorbikes from Battlestar Galactica, a pulse rife from Alien, life-size R2D2 and C3PO, Ron Perlman’s Hellboy costume, a Jedi lightsaber made by the ‘Saber Master’ Norman Harrison - “it just goes on and on”.

He continued: “It's too much for a garage. It's in a warehouse. I've got life-size pieces as well.”

Luke lives in Swindon and used to work at Honda, but was fed up and “wanted to do something different”.(Image: Dave Cox)

Having collected Star Wars anyway, he bought the first-ever Stormtrooper costume in the UK in the 80s for £3,000, and later a Darth Vader and Boba Fett suit.

He said: “I started doing private appearances with them. Because everybody wanted them, I was charging them a lot of money.

“And then 20th Century Studios started hiring it from me. So I was obviously charging them a lot of money for it. And that's when I started saying ‘I want a Batman one now’ and it started spiralling like that.”(Image: Dave Cox)

He loves movie memorabilia because “you are a piece of the movie. You’ve got something that nobody else has got and I’m the only one”.

One piece he does not want to sell is his Star Wars number plate that starts “S7AR W”.

He is being forced to sell out of personal circumstances and has mixed feelings about the auctions. 

He said: “I don't want to do it, but what am I meant to do? I've got to live, haven't I? I've got to survive. It’s everything, my whole life.

“I just hope that it all goes to good homes you know?”

The objects are being auctioned at Wessex Auction Rooms near Chippenham. 230 pieces of “the really good stuff” will sell on Friday, December 6, while more again will sell on January 10.

The collection is being sold at toys and memorabilia specialists Wessex Auction Rooms located in Wiltshire just off of J17 of the M4 (Chippenham).

The auction house has public viewing available on December 4 and 5 as well as on the auction day – December 6 from 9am. Bidders are welcome to attend in-person, via telephone, or via the live online auction feed.

To view the full catalogue, and to bid live online follow this link - https://tinyurl.com/MrStarWarsAuction 

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