Two rare signed copies of D H Lawrence's controversial novel Lady Chatterley's Lover are being auctioned off.

The two first edition volumes by the Nottinghamshire author are going under the hammer at Sothebys in New York and at Neales Auctioneers in Nottingham on Friday.

The book being auctioned in the US is signed by Lawrence and is number 24 of 1,000 copies, while the Nottingham book is numbered 880 and also contains Lawrence's signature.

Lady Chatterley's Lover was published in Italy in 1928 because Lawrence realised its erotic nature would cause outrage in the UK.

'Extremely rare'

The novel tells of Lady Chatterley's passionate affair with Mellors, the family gamekeeper and details their erotic meetings until the affair is discovered.

The two books are expected to raise about �5,000 each.

The book was a popular BBC TV drama

Experts say it is extremely unusual that two rare books are auctioned on the same day.

"It is a bit freaky that two copies of this book are going on sale at the same time," auctioneer Tony Midgley said.

Lawrence, born at Eastwood in Nottinghamshire in 1885, was the fourth of five children of a coal miner.

He died in 1930 in France.

In 1960, the British publishers of Lady Chatterley's Lover, Penguin, were prosecuted by the Home Office for obscenity.

Penguin won the case and the book was eventually published in the UK, more than 30 years after it was published in Italy.