A thatcher has shared his most “unusual” find made while working on a roof - a pair of shoes believed to date back two centuries.

Chris Fellows, who lives in Thame, Oxfordshire and runs Thame Thatch, has found many other items such as tools from old craftsmen and newspapers during his career.

He said shoes were believed to have been placed in the thatch in the early 19th Century to ward off evil spirits.

Mr Fellows called the curious discovery a “good find” and said they had since been put back in the new thatch.

…

His subsequent research into shoes found they dated from around the beginning of the 19th Century.

"It was a time when superstition was rife - they were put in there to ward off evil spirits and witches.

"Apparently, the shoe, because it’s so close to the foot, would always contain a little bit of your soul in it - so they would stick them in the roof.

“And a lot of the roofs we work on have white window sills, because witches wouldn’t cross a white doorstep.”

Mr Fellows said he had found the shoes “quite close to Halloween”.

“Me and the guy I was working with took the rest of the day off, just in case.”