Vintage arcade machine collection could fetch £100k

A collection of more than 80 arcade machines, one dating back to the 1890s, may fetch £100,000 at auction.

Owned by Ken Jackson, 89, and his son Stewart, 49, from Birmingham, their collecting started after they developed a love for them visiting seaside towns like Blackpool and Torquay.

The pair have since spent 34 years collecting and restoring the machines.

Now Hansons Auctioneers, who will conduct the sale on 30 May, say that together their sale price could reach six figures.

The oldest machine up for sale was made in the 1890s and the newest in the 1970s.

Hansons owner Charles Hanson, said they were "a fabulous museum-worthy collection documenting the history of the amusement machine".

Ken Jackson said he discovered a passion for restoring the machines when his son was a child, despite not having a mechanical engineering background.

He said they learnt their skills as they went along and remembered the first machine took two months to restore.

"All the work was done in our spare time, evenings and weekends," he remembered.

The pair bought most of their machines at auctions, as they were taken out of service by amusement arcades and fairs.

Ken Jackson said: "It was never our intention to create an amusement arcade."

He said they just wanted to restore them and store them in pristine condition and they had enough room at their home to keep them all.

"If we moved, we made sure there was a suitable room for them – they were part of the family," he said.

The decision to sell has been made reluctantly, but Ken said he felt the time had come to downsize and Stewart did not have enough space at his house to keep them all.

But after all the effort they have made to restore the machines, he said: "We would like them to go to good homes, where they will be loved and well cared for.”

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk