AN HISTORY aficionado has launched a new book about the curiosities of a Furness estuary area.

Duddon Sands of Time is a 288-page illustrated book written by Lex Ward. The book is a collection of curiosities from the top end of Duddon Sands.

The 80-year-old has been interested in history since he was a teenager and is a member of both the History Society at Kirkby and Broughton in Furness.

His passion for writing increased when he worked for CGP where he worked for 20 years. He has written and collaborated on several books and booklets for the history societies over the years.

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Mr Ward said: "I live next to where there was a peat farm that went into the moss and I wrote a book about that.

"While I was writing it I kept coming across oddities, things about this area that sort of came from the back of my head that I have known about but never really thought about and the more I thought about these bits I thought they need to go down in a book which is what I have done.

"I have always lived around the Duddon Sands and now I live at Foxfield so I thought it definitely deserves a book. It took me more than two years to put this together because the more I did the more I thought about other things that should be written down in it. 

Huge ancient antlers found in the sands, the art of catching cockles and treading flukes are some of the curiosities entailed in the book.

The book went for sale last month and 100 copies were sold in two weeks. 

When asked why the book had a successful sale, Mr Ward said: "It is about things that people may not be aware of or remember from when they were younger. 

"People like to read about places they know about. It gets people's curiosity going."

The book can be purchased for £10 at Broughton in Furness Post Office.