A FURNITURE restorer from Lechlade has described the moment he found priceless correspondence between two of English literature’s greatest exponents as a once in a lifetime discovery.

Clive Payne was restoring an old bureau, which was believed to have been owned by mystery writer Agatha Christie, when he discovered a telegram from playwright Noel Coward, sent from Bermuda in September 1957.

In it he congratulates the writer on her play, The Mousetrap, breaking the record for the longest-running show in London – it is still going now, more than 24,000 performances later.

The 18th-century bureau had been bought in an auction of items from Agatha Christie’s former home in south Devon.

Mr Payne said he discovered the telegram when he took the back off the piece while carrying out repairs for the new owner. “As part of the restoration process I needed to remove its back,” he said.

“The usual dirt and muck fell out, but also two pieces of paper.

“They had been jammed by two pieces of wood. If the furniture had not been brought in to be restored, no-one would ever have known the items were there.

“They were in pretty good condition considering they were screwed up and tucked away.

“It’s not every day you find something as good as this. I have been doing the job for 25 years and I have never found anything like it. I could not believe my eyes. I will never forget that moment.”

The other piece of paper was a receipt for underwear, housecoats and nightwear from 1952 and was addressed to Mrs Mallowan, which was Agatha’s married name after her second marriage.

The two documents have been valued at approximately £400, but Clive has recommended that his client keep them with the bureau and said he expects them to be popular among literary fans.

He said: “The client is obviously very happy and I am happy that I have been able to help him “It is exciting to be able to restore a piece of furntiure like that and then be able to tie it all together and complete the story.

“It is just incredible, a once in a lifetime find.”