A collection of previously-unseen photographs of Adolf Hitler has sold at auction for £30,000, an auctioneer said.

The photographs and negatives went under the hammer as part of a 300-lot militaria sale at JP Humbert Auctioneers in Towcester, Northamptonshire.

The collection of 600 to 800 images, taken during the Nazi party’s rise to power before the Second World War, were taken by Hitler’s personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann.

Hoffmann was chosen by Hitler as his official photographer, with his images published as postage stamps, postcards, posters and picture books.

A large archive of Hoffmann’s photographs was seized by the US government during the Allied occupation of Germany, and was held by the National Archives and Records Administration.

This collection of images, some of which have been digitally developed by the auction house, feature scenes including Hitler meeting Benito Mussolini, as well as going to an SS training camp.

They are thought to have been passed to an elderly man by the photographer himself.

Auctioneer Jonathan Hum-bert said: “I was astonished by the interest we had in the photographs, even from Germany.

“They provided a never-seen-before insight into the rise of the Nazi party, and some personal views of Hitler himself.

“Rather than pictures taken from the crowd at these rallies, they really were up close to him.”

Also to go under the hammer was a fully road-legal 1965 armoured personnel carrier, which sold for £6,200.

The vehicle, called Caerphilly, is believed to have been driven by Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson and Formula 1’s Jenson Button.