A canny Scots collector has amassed a hoard of more than 6000 empty beer tins.

Alex Drummond, 58, started collecting the used cans as a teenager and has gathered the vast collection over the course of 41 years.

The retired painter and decorator keeps the treasures in his spare room and attic, and has a number of special edition versions of well-known beers.

Mr Drummond, who lives in Kirkcaldy, Fife, said: “I started saving beer cans when I was about 17.

“I was having a drink with my dad one night and we put our empty cans on the mantle piece and it just grew from there, really.

“I’ve been acquiring cans for 41 years now and at last count I had well over 6,000.”

Mr Drummond has been offered more than £1,000 for a single can by a Swedish collector, but decided not to part with it.

He said: “The oldest that I have is a 1964 Tennants can. It even has a recipe on the back. They certainly don’t make them like that now.

“I would say that one is probably my favourite out of all my collection.

“I also have a limited edition Stella Artois can which was made to mark the solar eclipse a few year ago. It’s pure black and only 1,000 were produced at the time, so I’m lucky to have it.

“Collecting beer cans was hugely popular throughout the 1970s. In fact, it was the fastest growing collectible item of the decade.

“It’s really huge in America, they even have a convention similar to Comic Con.”

American Jeff Lebo claims to have the largest beer can collection in the world, with 83,000 stored in a custom-made house.

Mr Drummond’s may not yet have reached that scale, but it is still as much a way of life as a hobby.

“I am beginning to run out of space in my spare room,” he admitted.

“That’s why I’ve decided to put the majority of the cans in boxes and store them up in the attic but I could never throw them away.”