Poignant collection of Busby Babe Duncan Edwards' letters and photographs to be auctioned

A poignant collection of memorabilia belonging to Manchester United legend Duncan Edwards is going under the auctioneer's hammer.

And the rare sale has revealed the tragic plight of his fiancée following his death in the Munich air disaster.

It follows the marking at Old Trafford and across the world of the 64th anniversary of the tragedy.

Edwards - a Busby Babe who was widely tipped to one day captain England - was considered to be among the finest players of his generation.

He died in hospital 15 days after the tragedy aged just 21.

Twenty three people died when a plane carrying Sir Matt Busby's famous United side crashed on its third attempt to take off from the Munich-Riem airport runway in poor conditions on February 6, 1958.

The players, supporters and sports reporters were returning from a European Cup game in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, when the plane stopped in Munich to refuel.

Edwards was pulled from the wreckage but succumbed to kidney injuries sustained in the crash.

Eight first team players in total lost their lives - Edwards and Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan.

More than 40 items including photographs and letters belonging Edwards are due to be auctioned by the family of his fiancée, Molly Leech.

Aged only 22, she rushed to Germany to be at his bedside in hospital. After his death, she was forced to return home with only his belongings.

Molly, who died in 2004 aged 68, never parted with the items but now her daughters have decided to sell them in Northamptonshire-based auction house Graham Budd's sports memorabilia sale.

Among the collection are letters from well wishers, photographs, his overnight bag and football programmes.

Also included is