THE news photographer who took hundreds of pictures of Bolton in the 1930s for the famous Mass Observation, has died at the age of 94.

Humphrey Spender, a photo journalist, was the "posh young man from the south" who came to the town during the depressed 30s to record the lives of everyday people.

And today his legacy lives on at Bolton Museum which has more than 1,000 of his original negatives and 200 original prints.

His negatives remained stored in tins for 40 years from 1937 until they were rediscovered and transferred to Sussex University which still holds large amounts of his work.

Bolton Council bought the original collection in the 1990s for £29,000.

Spender was inspired by photography as a 10-year-old when he was presented with a camera. But his ambition was always to become a painter, and he abandoned photography in the 1950s for art. The principle behind the Mass Observation was that the truth would be revealed only when people were unaware that they were being photographed.

The result was Spender was often told to "clear off" by the people of Bolton as he went about his work.

But today, his photographs are still sought after and considered an important record of the Depression.

Fiona Salverson, keeper of art at Bolton Museum, said his pictures were available to view on the Our Treasures website. She is in negotiations to loan some of his originals to Madrid for an exhibition.

"We loaned some work to the Tate in London last year and we still have a lot of interest from people."

To mark Spender's death, the museum is planning a display of his work which should be open by the end of this week. The museum also has one of his paintings on display - an of Bolton Allotments. To view the Spender images - there are 66 on the website - go to www.ourtreasures.org.