A PERSHORE man's life-long fascination with trains and railways has been recognised with a two-book publishing deal.

Michael Clemens, aged 55, was approached by one of the world's largest publishers of transport-themed books after they heard of his remarkable collection of photographs and cinefilms.

The first batch of pictures has now been brought together in Steam Trails: Cotswolds and South Midlands.

"All the lines around the Vale and the Cotswolds are covered," said Mr Clemens. "In the late 50s and 60s my dad Jim and I used to travel all over the country photographing the old steam trains and railway lines before they started to close, all the way from Penzance to Invernes, but, of course, a lot of my pictures are from the local area.

"Going through all the old photos to put the books together was quite a nostalgic experience. I was also surprised how long it took; each book took the best part of a year to complete."

Mr Clemens' second book, which is due to be published later in the year, will cover the railways of Cornwall and Devon.

Previously Mr Clemens has released 200 rolls of railway film, each 32 minutes long, which he took with his father between 1959-1965.

As well as being a comprehensive overview of the region's rail history, the book also contains some more personal recollections, such as the story attached to the picture of the old Evesham (Midlands) Station. "Some friends and I went over and asked a driver there if we could go in the engine. He let us and got us to fill it up with coal, which we did, with enthusiasm. When we got back to school, Prince Henry's Grammar, there was black smoke everywhere and the train departing made such a noise that nobody could see or hear the headmaster in the morning assembly. He never found out who was responsible for that."

Aside from his new career as a railway expert, Mr Clemens is also known in the Vale and Cotswolds for his family's business, Wireless Supplies. This company, one of the first electrical companies founded in Britain, once had stores in Pershore, Evesham, Broadway and Chipping Campden. The last shop, on Pershore High Street, closed in 2004.

The business was founded by his grandfather Charles in 1922, five years before electricity came to Pershore. This pioneer of the electrical age built his first radio when he was just 15. "He used to gather his own crystals on the Malverns and because this was before there were any radio broadcasts he would wait on Bredon Hill to catch midnight morse code broadcasts from the Eiffel Tower in Paris,"" said Mr Clemens.

His grandfather was also a pioneer of flight: "Before the First World War he built himself a glider. Because of its size he used the family cat to test it," he said.

"The flight was a success and the cat was not harmed, but when he got home his mother was not very happy."

Steam Trails: Cotswolds and South Midlands, published by Ian Allen Publishing and priced at £16.99 for the hardback edition, is now available in most bookshops.