A DUSTY holiday brochure advertising a Worcester hotel to tourists in the 1930s has been unearthed – 80 years after it was used by a guest to fix a stuck drawer.

The pictures, showing cheap beds and drab furnishings, provides a fascinating snapshot of cut-price holidays taken by Britons during the Great Depression.

The brochure was discovered at the 162-year-old Great Western Hotel in Worcester by builders while they refurbished a room.

It was found in a drawer in a room in the two-star hotel which had been wedged shut for more than 80 years.

The tiny booklet was used to entice visitors disembarking the train at the newly built Shrub Hill station in the city.

Travellers could enjoy bed and breakfast for as little as 14 shillings – the equivalent of 80p in modern money.

In a sign of the austere times leading up to the Second World War, tourists were told: “Ration books or emergency cards to be handed to office on arrival if staying more than two days.”

One picture, taken by a photographer named WW Dowty, shows the dining room complete with Victorian carriage clock and butterfly portraits on the walls.

Each table is decorated with cloth serviettes unimaginatively rolled up into each glass while richer guests enjoyed the luxury of dried flowers in a central vase.

Another page, entitled ‘A bedroom’, features two single beds.

The bare room, one of the most expensive in the hotel at 25 shillings, also featured a modesty screen in the corner along with a wash basin.

Each page is illustrated with pictures of well-dressed diners enjoying the 18-room hotel. Current manager Richard Melling said: “The brochure gives us a glimpse into the facilities travellers had in hotels in wartime Britain.

“The facilities were basic but it was cheap.

The hotel was tailored towards short breaks and aimed at people arriving at Shrub Hill station.

“Very little of the exterior of the hotel has changed over the years.”