Collectors collective – meet Britain’s maddest collectors

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Meet some of Britains maddest collectors! A dance teacher with the UKs largest collection of Sylvanian Families has spent a whopping 40,000 on the childrens toys - and has even given them their own room in his house. Obsessed Jacc Batch, 26, saved up his pocket money to buy his first toy as a child and now has nearly 5,000 figures and other memorabilia. He not only collects every character and accessory, but also the identical figures from America, Japan and Europe, which come in slightly different packaging.

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Steve Wheeler is one man whos got a lotta bottle - after collecting more than 17,500 historic MILK BOTTLES. Madcap Steve, is in a glass of his own after spending more than 30 years scouring farms and scrap yards around the world in his quest for unusual glass pintas. His collection is now so large that it doesnt fit in his home in Malvern, Worcs - forcing him to build an 80ft shed in his back garden to house his collection.

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Footy-mad Ian Holmes has spent a whopping 50,000 on his title-winning collection of almost 700 unique team scarves from across the world. IT teacher Ian insists on only collecting a scarf for teams he has seen play in person - racking up thousands of pounds in travel each year to grow his crazy collection which is the biggest in the UK.

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Holy mow-ly! Its the mower the merrier for this lawnmower fanatic, who has more than 500 in his amazing collection. Grandad-of-two Stanley Hardwick, 75, has racked up his impressive mower collection over nearly 30 years and has more than enough to keep his garden in Filey, North Yorks, in tip-top condition. Lawnmower fanatic Stan started his collection back in 1986, when his interest was piqued through his job as a greenkeeper at Filey Golf Links.

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Forget a few tinnies in the garden, one man has taken his enthusiasm for ale to the extreme by collecting more 1200 different beer bottles. And his collection is so big hes built his own pub in a shed at the bottom of his garden to keep them in. John Plumridge, 59, has spent more than 7000 on creating miniature idyll.

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This is one man whos never short of something to read - after he spent 20 years building up one of the worlds biggest collections of COMICS. Phil Shrimpton owns every single copy of childrens favourites the Dandy and the Beano that were produced during their 50-year-prime period - and loves the comics so much hes even started a BUSINESS trading them.

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A royal fanatic has splashed out thousands of pounds transforming her terraced home into a SHRINE to five generations of the Windsor family with four themed rooms dedicated to them. Divorced mum-of-four Margaret Tyler has amassed a colossal collection of royal memorabilia, insured for 40,000, at her Wembley home which she describes as a labour of love.

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Barbies biggest fan has splashed out 55k on her obsession despite being 34 years old. Self-confessed Barbie fanatic, Azusa Sakamoto, from Los Angeles, has forked out 55,000 on her obsession. The nail artist, originally from Japan, fell in love with Barbie after she bought her first Barbie lunchbox when she was just 15. Over the past 20 years, Azusas love for Barbie has spiralled out of control and now everything she owns is Barbie. The huge collection includes 145 dolls, 40 pairs of shoes and 60 bags, and Azusa has spent thousands on Barbie conventions, home furnishings and accessories too.

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A mum-of-six with a Paddington Bear collection worth 10,000 has gone into overdrive with the release of the recent film. Emma Bendings house is filled to the brim with adorable teddies as well as books and prints to that fuel her love for the small Peruvian bear character. And she was so desperate to see the film that she booked herself into the first showing at her local cinema when she couldnt get tickets for the premiere on ebay.

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Meet the man whose world is never enough as he looks to add to his whopping collection of 13,000 pieces of Bond memorabilia. Nick Bennet, 48, from Leigh, Greater Manchester, is the world record holder for the most James Bond memorabilia with an eye-watering 13,000 items.

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Britain's biggest baked bean fan is having 60 images of his favourite food tattooed on his head. Captain Beany otherwise known as 59-year-old Barry Kirk. These obsessives have spent thousands of pounds and hours building up impressive collections of bizarre items.

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A transport-mad man has spent 130,000 - on the worlds biggest collection of TOY BUSES. Geoff Price, 63, has been collecting miniature buses for 60 years - and now has more than 13,000 of them packed into his home in Walsall, West Mids. His obsession with public transport has even taken him around the world - journeying to more than 20 different countries in search of even more buses.

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Meet the man with more than a few skeletons in his closet - a staggering collection of more than 2,000 skulls. Alan Dudley, 55, has revealed his huge hoard of animal skulls - one of the largest in the world - that he keeps in his family home in Coventry. He has amassed a gigantic collection including skulls of hippos, giraffes, crocodiles, birds and a two-headed cow. The dad-of-three, keeps his collection behind locked doors in floor-to-ceiling glass cabinets.