Mickey Mouse: Rare toy saved from Monmouthshire landfill

A rare Mickey Mouse toy was saved from landfill after workers spotted it at a council tip.

It dates back to the 1930s and had been thrown out by a resident in Monmouthshire, with contractors finding it at a recycling and waste site.

Experts from Abergavenny Museum found that the toy was actually made nearby - at the old Dean's toy factory in neighbouring Torfaen county.

It has now been donated to Pontypool Museum.

Research found that Deans toy factory was the first UK manufacturer to make Disney items in the 1930s.

The firm dated back to the 1700s, but disappeared after going into administration in 2005.

An almost identical example of the toy - the earliest version of Mickey, as he appeared in his debut 1928 film Steamboat Willie - is held within the collections of the V&A Museum in London.

Other good condition versions of the doll have sold for around £300, but there is no indication of how many still exist.

Because of the historical links to Pontypool - with the town's museum less than a mile from where Dean's factory once was - Abergavenny Museum curator Rachael Rogers suggested donating the toy.

"I think it's wonderful that Mickey has, after his very long life, been saved from the rubbish," said Monmouthshire council's cabinet member for neighbourhood services Jane Pratt.

Pontypool Museum curator Caitlin Gingell said staff hoped to send Mickey to a professional conservator to be cleaned and structurally supported before going on display as part of a small exhibition about the toy manufacturer.

She added: "Dean's toy factory, where Mickey was made, has been an important strand of Pontypool's history and it is lovely to be bringing him back to his hometown."