An appeal has been launched to find the owner of a box of photo albums that is thought to have been dropped off at a recycling event in Hitchin by mistake.

The albums were left at the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling stand at Woodside car park in Hitchin on Saturday, October 1.

WEEE sales manager Tom Smith made the discovery while sorting through the items dropped off.

“At first we were unsure whether the photo albums had been dropped off on purpose,” he said.

“But when we looked more closely at them we realised that they were full of pictures of life events like birthday celebrations and trips to America and Europe.

“The photo albums were also labelled quite meticulously, which is why we are convinced they had been dropped off accidentally.”

Councillor Peter Burt, who is responsible for recycling at North Herts District Council, said: “We would really like to find the owner of the photos so we can reunite them.

“There are many memories contained in the albums and it would be such a shame to discard them without at least attempting to contact the owner.

“The WEEE event was hailed one of the most popular events yet and if you were one of the recyclers that came along please check to see if you have lost some photo albums. We are keen to give them back to the rightful owner.”

About 260 people attended the recycling day, dropping off more than 7.5 tonnes of electrical items.

If you’re the owner of the photo albums or know who the owner is, call the district council’s waste team on 01462 474000.