WHEN Tommy Tyrrell bought a box at a car boot sale, he thought it was just another to add to his collection of ‘junk’.

But he was amazed to discover this sealed tin of cigarettes, which potentially dates from 1893.

Mr Tyrrell, of Darwen, said he wasn’t sure at which car boot sale he had picked up the box.

He said: “I go to a lot of car boot sales and I buy junk and boxes and things like that.

“I got this one and when I opened it up there was a spirit level, some other tat and this tin of Capstan Navy Cut cigarettes.

“It is sealed and comes with another piece of metal that you clip on to open it like a tin opener.

“I have spoken to a man at the Imperial Tobacco Archives who said they were made to be imported between 1893 and 1923.

“Apparently there are very few left in the world that are completely sealed up.”

Mr Tyrrell, who said the box had only cost him a couple of pounds, said he would only sell the tin at the right price.