I was stunned when I bought a second hand book to find it was the copy I OWNED as a child

A MUSICIAN who bought a second-hand book he read as a child was stunned to find it was the copy he had once owned.

Tom Tolson, 49, had dreams of being a spy when was ten years old.

So in 1983 he ordered The Secret Agent’s Handbook, by Peter Eldin, from his County Durham school’s book club and when it arrived wrote the words “Top Secret” in the space given for a name.

But during a bout of nostalgia recently he searched online to see if the book was still available.

He found a copy for £2.80 on Amazon — and when it arrived he found his inscription inside.

Tom, now living in Nottingham, said: “It was my book, my actual book, with my writing inside.

“I remembered writing ‘top secret’ inside, and that was my handwriting. I was shocked.”

Tom said the book was never as useful in real life as he once hoped — but is not letting go of it this time.

He said: “As you get older, you want to cling on to past memories and this sort of thing really means a lot to me now.

“I’m definitely going to keep it.”