A retired decorator has become a millionaire after selling a collection of Pokémon cards at auction.

The man, from Woking, said he had no idea the cards had any value until he read in his local newspaper about a single card fetching more than £6,000.

His collection, which had been in an attic for 15 years, was auctioned off at Ewbank's on Wednesday for £1.56m.

The Surrey auction house claimed it was the UK's most valuable trading cards auction ever and suggested it could be a European record.

"I know people always talk about finding treasure in the attic, but in my case that is literally true," said the man, who asked not to be identified.

"When my son was young, in the late 1990s, he started getting cards and swapping them at school.

"I thought they looked nice and wondered whether they might be a good investment.

"He had his own cards, but he never got to touch these, I'm glad to say."

Pokémon is a Japanese franchise best known for its trading cards, video games and animated television series.

The man said he had bought some complete sets of the cards from someone in Malaysia on eBay.

One set which cost him £300 at the time went for £75,000 at Wednesday's auction.

The cards, all filed into bespoke Pokémon binders while still sealed, were stored in the attic after his son lost interest in the franchise.