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Hundreds of items of Star Wars memorabilia owned by Darth Vader actor Dave Prowse are being sold off with a share of the profit going to charity.

Prowse died aged 85 in November after a short illness but had been living with Alzheimer's disease for about 10 years.

Items up for sale include his rehearsal scripts from The Empire Strikes Back and personal messages from Star Wars co-stars Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

Prowse was also well known for being the Green Cross Code Man in the 1970s.

Originally from Bristol, the former professional bodybuilder said his role as the face of road safety was the "best job I ever had".

His green and white superhero suit and his robot sidekick Droid are also being sold off in the auction, with a percentage of the money raised going to Alzheimer's Research UK.

While Prowse was the physical embodiment of villain Vader in the original trilogy of films, the character was voiced by James Earl Jones.

But the frightening and imposing figure of Vader will live long in the memory of fans - including one who made a scale replica costume helmet. It is believed the fan gave the model to Prowse in the 1980s.

Friend and assistant Julian Owen took about two months to sort through the items at Prowse's London home.

He said it had been "an honour" to organise them, after working with Prowse for more than a decade.

"Going through the collection has brought back a lot of great memories. We're expecting a lot of interest from around the world.

"It was so hard to see Dave's decline with Alzheimer's disease. We worked together most weekends and every time I saw him there would be a little less of him there."

Mr Owen said Prowse's wife Norma had "said from the start that she wanted some of the money raised to go to Alzheimer's Research UK".

"Dave would be delighted to know some of what's raised is going to help others," he said.

Tim Parry, Alzheimer's Research UK's director, said the charity "can't thank Norma and [Prowse]'s family enough" for helping them with the auction, "which will undoubtedly generate a huge amount of buzz in the Star Wars community".

The auction, run by East Bristol Auctions, has opened.

People can bid until 4 May - known as Star Wars Day, for its pun on the "May the Force be with you" line from the film - when it will then switch to a live auction.

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