A postcard claiming to have been written by the 19th Century serial killer 'Jack The Ripper' has sold at auction for £22,000.

The unusual artefact was checked by an historical expert who believes the card is from the same time period as the notorious murderer, and was held in police files until the 1960s when many files were pruned.

The card reads: “Beware there is two women I want here they are b*******, and I mean to have them with my knife is still in good order it is a students knife and I hope you liked the half of kidney. I am Jack the Ripper.”

Jonathan Riley from Grand Auctions in Folkestone said before the sale: "Our card was one of a number of notes sent to police claiming responsibility during the long-running manhunt, but the postcard has a very strong provenance due to the period it was sent and the fact it was contained in police files.

"It was received at Ealing Police Station on October 29 1888 from someone claiming to be the beast responsible for the brutal murder of at least five women in the slums of the East End.

"Victorian London was stunned and horrified by the gruesome deaths, involving women whose throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations and one victim, Mary Kelly, being especially badly mutilated.

"She was murdered on November 9 1888, an interesting date for our card.

"We are in the fortunate position of nobody being able to say the card was not written by Jack, but equally we cannot prove it was.

"Our card is the first time a Ripper letter or card has ever been offered on the market for auction with police provenance.

"It is an unusual item for an auction house of our size to handle."

The card has been checked by Stewart Evans, an expert on Ripper memorabilia.

The guide price before the sale was for between £600 and £900, with the lot coming up at the Glenmore Centre in Folkestone.