BRITAIN will be at its most jingoistic this weekend – and one Weston man could lay claim to being the most fervent patriot of all.

Peter Elston moved to the town after retiring from the civil offices of London’s Metropolitan Police 11 months ago.

But spare a thought for the removal men, who faced the task of transporting his enormous collection of royal memorabilia all the way up the M4 to his new home in Ashbury Drive.

That’s because patriotic Peter has been collected royal memorabilia for more than 40 years, and now has hundreds of items which he brings out to display during big events.

He said: “When there is a special royal event, like now the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, I often put out pieces to reflect on the many years our Queen and the Royal Family have served our country with total dedication.”

Peter says he has collected most of his souvenirs – ranging from flags and mugs to coins and busts, and from books and photos to tablecloths and lunchboxes – from markets, antiques traders and junk shops.

He says he plans to loan some of his collection to Weston Museum for a display during the jubilee weekend, but hopes to one day create a permanent exhibition.

He said: “As a collector I never paid much for any items; the shop owners got to know me and knew I was interested in royal history and did not collect as an investment. Hence, I only paid a couple of pounds at the most for the items purchased.

“My wish is one day to have a permanent exhibition somewhere in Somerset to show my collection so that visitors can see and learn from a royal memorabilia collection, even from a design perspective how fashions have changed with mass marketing of royal souvenirs.”