He's got more than just a skeleton is his closet! Collector reveals staggering haul of 2,000 animal skulls he keeps in semi-detached home

• Father-of-three Alan Dudley has been showing off his collection of skulls for a new book
• He displays them in cabinets in his three-bedroom home in Coventry
• Skulls in the collection range from common rats to giraffes and crocodiles

Make no bones about it, taxidermy enthusiast Alan Dudley has more than just the one skeleton in his closet - he has a jaw dropping collection of more than 2,000 skulls.
Dad-of-three Alan has revealed his stockpile of animal skulls - thought to be one of the largest of its kind in the world - for a new book to be released later this month.
The 55-year-old Jaguar Land Rover inspector's unassuming semi-detached house is home to a fascinating haul of taxidermy skulls and animals, with two rooms converted to showcase every weird and wonderful creature imaginable.

Taxidermy enthusiast Alan Dudley has one of the world's largest collections of animal skulls displayed at his home in Coventry

The collection, pictured, includes more than 2,000 different skulls from animals as small as the common rat to much more exotic creatures such as a giraffe skull

He said: 'You name it, I’ve got it, I’ll take any skull - as long as it’s not human.'
Glass cabinets proudly display Mr Dudley's morbid menagerie of beasts of all shapes and sizes, ranging from tiny rat and guinea pig skulls to more exotic creatures such as hippos, giraffes and crocodiles.

 

A two-headed cow’s skull is among the collection on display, one of the many items donated by zoos in return for his work preserving animal skulls for their educational centres.
He began assembling his collection 12 years ago after he became fascinated with nature and collecting bird eggs as a youngster.

Alan's collection, which includes the skulls pictured, was nearly seized by police two years ago when his home was raided and he was charged with failing to have the proper licenses to trade in endangered creatures

Since the subsequent court case Alan's bizarre collection, pictured with its owner, has attracted the attention of a book publisher and TV producers

But his unusual hobby landed him in hot water two years ago when his home was raided and he wound up in court charged with failing to have the proper licenses to trade in endangered species.
Recalling the night when officers raided his home, he said: 'It was terrifying. I was in bed when my son woke me up to say four police officers were at the front door - they had a warrant to search every room of the house.'
'I was scared because there was talk of them taking my entire collection. In the end they locked the room and took the key.

Alan, pictured with his collection, began assembling the 2,000 plus skulls when he became interested in nature and animal eggs as a youngster

'I think they realised how much there was and didn’t want the hassle of packing it away.'
While they were at the property officers found a tiger cub carcass in his freezer.
Alan was arrested but it was another two years before the high-profile case was heard at Coventry Crown Court and he received a £1,000 fine and a suspended jail sentence.
He added: 'It was an honest mistake, but I know I should have had the licence.
'I was going through a difficult time because my wife had walked out and my head was all over the place.
'It’s a lesson I’ve learned but a lesson I learned the hard way.'
The court case attracted the attention of a publishing firm who are now due to release an illustrated book based on Alan's collection and called Skulls: An Exploration of Alan Dudley's Curious Collection.
A mobile phone app about his collection was also launched with some success and a television programme is in the pipeline.
Alan said: 'Most of my family and friends think the collection’s fascinating. Some think it’s a bit strange. At the end of the day, the work I do is exactly what you’d find being done in museums.
'The only difference is I’m doing this in my house.'
The book, An Exploration Of Alan Dudley’s Curious Collection, written by Simon Winchester, is available to order online and from book shops.

Alan, pictured with a skull, says that his hobby is no different to what is done in museums around the world except that he does it in his own home