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The first photographs showing 'Yeti' footprints are up for grabs at auction.

British explorer Eric Earle Shipton took the historical pictures in 1951 when he was trekking at 19,000ft in the Himalayas.

He spotted the mysterious 13-inch footprint in the snow and his iconic photograph caused a global stir, which has divided explorers and historians for decades.

Some believe his photographs provide hard evidence that the Yeti - a huge ape-like creature also called Bigfoot or Sasquatch - was living in the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet.

(Image: Christies/BNPS)

Others say it is just a myth and even accused Mr Shipton of creating the dent in the snow himself, to make it look like the Yeti had been there.

Speculation about the existence of a Yeti started when Greek photographer N.A. Tombazi made the first sighting by a European during an expedition to the Sikkim Himalaya in 1925.

But Mr Shipton's photographs remain the most significant evidence that a Yeti existed and the set of four pictures is expected to fetch more than £5,000 at auction.

James Hyslop, a specialist who catalogued the photographs for Christie's online auction, described the photographs as being a 'massive part of history'.

(Image: Christies/BNPS)

The 31-year-old said: "The photographs are so iconic, we are hoping they will raise more than £5,000 pounds during the auction.

"They are incredibly rare. The photographs are the earliest documentation of the famous Yeti and the pictures made all of the headlines in the 1950s.

"They are on a par with the footage which showed Bigfoot in America. But these pictures were the first real evidence that the Yeti could be real.

"There had been myths that people had seen the Yeti before the 1951 sighting, but this is the first picture showing photograph evidence of the Yeti. Others before have just speculated."

(Image: Christies/BNPS)

The photographs, the original prints made by Mr Shipton when he returned, were sold years ago for £3,500 when mountaineer Tom Bourdillon, who was part of the famous 1951 expedition, put them on sale.

Mr Hyslop, head of travel and natural science at Chrisie's Auctions and Private Sales, added: "Some people say the photographs show 100 per cent that the Yeti is real. Others disagree.

"But people can believe what they want to believe, because he strongly denied it at the time. It all adds to the element of mystery behind the photograph."

The online auction, called Out of the Ordinary: The Online Edit, started on August 27 and bidding will finish on September 10.

As of this morning the highest bid for the photos is £3,000, so if you're feeling flush click here.