A RARE pram featuring Wedgwood plaques is to go on display after a resident unearthed the treasure at an auction.

The white and lilac pram will go on display at the Wedgwood Museum, in Barlaston, in March.

It will be on loan from owner Julie Austin, from Longton.

The 54-year-old said: "I bought it from an auction site in April and since then it has been fully restored with a new chassis, paint work, hood and apron.

"I had no idea it was so rare when I bought it, I've just always had an interest in prams, since I was a little girl playing with dolls.

"I promised myself I would get one when I had grandchildren. I was blown away when I realised how rare it is, it's just beautiful to look at but I have to keep covering it up because my cat keeps getting into it.

"When it was made the mother who bought it would have ordered the wheel size and the interior, even selecting the plaque colour. They were completely bespoke."

Grandmother-of-three Mrs Austin is a member of The Pram Community Committee, a recently formed partnership between pram enthusiasts and Wedgwood, which has organised the pram day on March 17 to show off the sought after baby carriers.

The Wilson Antibes prams, which feature a Wedgwood Jasper plaque, can be worth up to £2,000 each.

Wedgwood supplied manufacturer Lawrence Wilson and Son with 500 hundred pairs of plaques in 1959 in three colours: white on pale blue, white on sage green and white on lilac.

There is no record of how many of each colour were produced but blue is the most common colour, followed by green and the lilac is very rare. Until recently there were no recorded lilac prams in existence.

A number of guest speakers have been invited to the pram day including Alan Halsall, owner of the Silver Cross marque, and Colin Ward, who recently wrote a book outlining the history of prams from 1877 to the present day.

Tickets, costing £10, go on sale on January 15. For more information e mail julieann1972@live.co.uk