TWO mystery photographs, discovered by a York man in the back of a picture frame, have been claimed by their owner after an Evening Press appeal.

William O'Sullivan, 81, of Rawcliffe, was shocked to see an image of himself aged 19 staring back at him as he flicked through the pages of the paper last week.

The photograph, which had 'Billy at 19' written on the back, was featured in an article alongside a picture of a young child, which Mr O'Sullivan has identified as his younger brother, Dennis.

A number of readers contacted us with information about Mr O'Sullivan when they saw the photographs.

They had worked with him in the city, but subsequently lost touch.

Mr O'Sullivan said he was surprised by the interest when he came in to claim the pictures.

He said: "I saw it in the paper, we are regular readers.

"I was shocked because I couldn't understand where and how these photos came about.

"The only person that referred to me as Billy was my mother.

"She must have been connected to that picture in some way, maybe it was her picture frame."

The photo of William was found by Fred Battensby, of Osbaldwick, who bought the old picture frame from a jumble sale in York.

Mr Battensby said: "I'm very pleased about it, it was just an off-chance that someone came forward to claim them."

Updated: 11:07 Friday, August 31, 2001