AS a collectaholic my Wednesday hobby is auction hunting.

Last week I had the shock of my life at one of the furniture items up for grabs. Propped on its end was a huge coffin, complete with brass plate and handles.

Not only was that eerie, but it looked as though it had been used.

The plate bore the name of a Theophilus Peters, who died on October 10 1996, aged 58, and added "At rest".

The whole casket looked as though it had been lowered into a grave and even had 'ashes to ashes' thrown on top, then the dust scraped away.

Spooky!

I don't know what happened to the body or the lining, or even who would want to buy such a thing.

But on second thoughts it could be good forward planning. After all we all need one.

The only thing is I think keeping such a macabre item at home might be tempting fate.

Late news: It sold for a bargain £12 - a great saver for some brave soul who's probably turned it into a coffee table.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.