A HANDWRITTEN letter by one of the most distinguished children's authors has been found in a donation made to a Reading charity.

The British Heart Foundation's (BHF) store on Friar street discovered the letter by Enid Blyton hidden in one of her books from a nearby donation point.

The letter, dated December 5 1966, was penned only two years before the creator of Famous Five died and sold for £193 through the charity's eBay page.

Ghafoor Hussain, listing team supervisor at BHF eBay, said: “When we received Enid Blyton’s handwritten letter, we were all very excited about the prospect of selling a personal item from an author who inspired so many young children to read.

“We are delighted with the sale which will go towards funding research into heart disease - a fitting tribute to her father who we believe she was very close too.

“Our eBay shop started off as a regional trial in a small office space 10 years ago and in the last 5 years has grown to become the UK’s biggest charity shop on eBay.

“We work with the staff and volunteers at BHF shops nationwide to give our online customers the opportunity to bid on one-off valuable and rare donated items.”

Reading Chronicle:

In her frustrated letter to an unknown recipient, Blyton complains about certain items missing in the post.

It reads: "I am sure you must be ‘fed up’ with all this, and I am truly sorry for all that has happened! It’s a bit of a puzzle I must say!

"I think you are probably right when you suggest that the ‘undated card’ was for some reason delayed in the post."

All donations made to book banks are sold at BHF shops to raise money for research into fighting heart disease.

More than 600 million copies of Blyton's work have been sold to date and the sale of the letter is a fitting tribute to her father, who is believed to have died of a sudden heart attack.

All staff and volunteers at BHF shops are asked to contact the charity’s eBay team if they find a donated item which is rare, valuable or unique so that it can be sold at auction.