A LARGE collection of character jugs is set to go under the hammer at a Worcestershire hotel.

A private collector has given the Bank House Hotel in Bransford around 150 jugs for the auction next month.

Character jugs date back 300 years when they had comical images of the local squire.

These days they continue to be humorous characterisations of those in the public eye.

The jugs, which are six to seven inches in height, have images of many 20th Century characters including Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill and Gulf War general ''storming'' Norman Schwarzkopf.

John Pratt, assistant manager of Andrew Grant, said they were originally used as cider mugs or ale tankards but have become collectors' items with companies like Royal Doulton cashing in on the market.

"They began making them in the 18th Century," said Mr Pratt, "They still make them today but they are mainly used for decorative purposes.

He added that jugs are very collectable and can go for anything from £100 to £3,000.

"When there are a few models for which they change the hair or they have a different coloured head, that is when they become a collectors item, " said Mr Pratt.

The auction will be held at Bank House Hotel on Thursday, April 10 from 11am.