Star Wars: Story of how Harrison Ford's script ended up in London flat

A family has revealed the unlikely story of how a draft Star Wars movie script belonging to Harrison Ford fell into their grateful hands.

In the summer of 1976 the actor was lodging in a flat while filming the first instalment of the franchise at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.

The property's owners lived below him and initially did not know who he was.

An auction house in Kings Langley is selling the script and other documents that Mr Ford left behind.

The bundle is expected to be sold for up to £12,000.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to offer a version with such wonderful provenance and attribution to Harrison Ford," said auctioneer Jonathan Torode, from Excalibur Auctions.

"The touching back story to these items adds even more appeal for avid Star Wars fans and we anticipate huge interest from around the globe."

Members of the family said that when their grandmother was looking for a lodger for her property in Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, in west London, she advertised the flat to let in the Sunday Times.

Mr Ford came to view it and agreed to rent the space.

She and her husband lived on the bottom four floors of the large house, and Mr Ford occupied the upper two floors.

The couple did not know their new tenant was a Hollywood star until their cleaner recognised him and reportedly fainted.

Other Star Wars actors, such as Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, visited the property - neither of whom the owners knew of previously.

The couple referred to Mr Hamill as "the boy", because that was how Mr Ford referred to him.

The landlords got on well with their tenant, and they recalled how he drank with them in the garden and attended their son's first birthday party.

Mr Ford also gave his landlords money to buy "a lot of plants" from the garden centre.

"He was an ideal tenant. It really was a fun time," said the family in a statement, released via the auction house.

When production finished and Mr Ford moved out of the flat, he left behind a fourth draft script for the film. The movie's original title was The Adventures of Luke Starkiller, which later became Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.

The script is incomplete and unbound, with differing-coloured pages indicating revisions - and includes scenes and characters cut from the final edit.

The script, written by George Lucas, introduces Mr Ford as the cynical hero Han Solo on page 56.

A second lot is made up of other items Mr Ford left behind in the flat, such as a letter from his agent, Patricia McQueeney, in which she discussed his contracts and future film prospects.

The letter also scolded the actor for not contacting his wife.

One of the film's shooting schedules will be put on sale, which includes a handwritten note that appears to refer to a meeting between Mr Ford and the film producer Robert Watts.

The collection will be auctioned on 17 February.

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