Historic mugshots - including a Derbyshire woman wrongly convicted of plotting to kill the PM - fetch £10k after being rescued from a skip

The haunting images include Derbyshire suffragette Alice Wheeldon who was wrongly convicted of plotting to kill former Prime Minister David Lloyd George in March 1917. The rogues gallery of criminals and ne'er-do-wells' from over a century ago were discovered inside a police ledger dating between 1890 to 1920.

Overall, there are 500 pages featuring grainy mugshots and details of crimes ranging from theft, burglary, shoplifting and assault. Lesser offences include petty theft such as stealing a comb, bad language or even being an “incorrigible rogue”.

The fascinating document of “serious importance” was rescued from a skip by a former police officer working in Derby over 40 years ago. His son, 53, sold the book via Hansons Auctioneers and was stunned when it fetched more than three times the estimate when a UK bidder snapped it up for £10,500. Derbyshire Record Office (DRO) had hoped to secure it for public use and launched a Crowdfunder appeal but only raised £2,000.

The engineer from Staffordshire who inherited it from his dad and kept it in a cupboard for decades, said he was “flabbergasted” by the final price. The seller said: “It would have been nice if it had gone to Derbyshire Record Office or ended up in a museum but I suppose it’s all down to who has the deepest pockets. I wish the collector well.

“I am very happy with the result. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I was flabbergasted. I would have been happy with the original estimate of £2,000-£3,000. The book was rescued by my father, a police officer at the time, when he was working for Derby Borough Police more than 40 years ago.

“The station was clearing out some garages and store rooms at an old police station on St Mary's Gate in Derby. My father saved it from being thrown into the skip. He thought it was too interesting to end up in landfill. “Unfortunately, my dad is no longer with us so I can't ask him for more details. He passed it to me 30 years ago.

The ledger's most notables pages relate to the Wheeldon family - who were charged and convicted with conspiracy to murder Lloyd George. Alice Wheeldon, her daughter Winnie and son-in-law Alfred Mason were all believed to have been wrongfully convicted of the plot in March 1917.

Alice was found guilty at the Old Bailey but the record showed she was discharged from HMP Aylesbury just months later at the request of Lloyd George himself. However, the suffragette's time in prison had taken its toll on her health, with a later note recorded under her mugshot in bold red ink which stated: "Died 21.02.19".

Hansons’ books expert Jim Spencer said: “It is an exceptional item. Nothing prepared me for that first look inside it. “I was amazed how many individuals were featured in the book, and I was struck by the range of offences.

"Some convictions seem shockingly petty, such as 'stealing a tin of pine apple', 'stealing a bag of soot', 'stealing growing apples', and some are bizarrely vague, like 'incorrigible rogue'.