An obsessive Beatles fan is to auction original artwork from the film Yellow Submarine to fund a pop music caf venture.

Meg Maloney will use the proceeds to set up pop music-themed Pop Haven in Newhaven this autumn.

Some 25 original cels - pieces of hand-painted film - used in the making of the animated Beatles movie will be on sale at London auction house Bonhams on July 24.

But it will be a wrench for collector Meg, 49, to see the cels go.

Tracking down Yellow Submarine artwork by illustrator Heinz Edelman was what set her on the long and winding road to hoarding Beatles memorabilia 15 years ago.

Now she co-owns Penny Lane Gallery, a Beatles memorabilia shop in Upper St James's Street, Kemp Town, Brighton.

The store offers everything from autographed promo records to Beanie bears wearing Beatle uniforms.

However, to fulfil her dream of opening the Pop Haven caf, Meg has had to adopt the Beatles' chorus, "Money, that's what I want."

The caf will be four times as big as the Kemp Town shop and will feature a Yellow Submarine jukebox - one of only 11 in the UK.

Among the auction lots will be a 13x11cm cel showing John Lennon in his Sgt Pepper suit and a 22x23.5cm image of George Harrison throwing an apple.

Bids for the larger cels are expected to start at about £1,400 each.

Meg and co-owner Jane Penny claim to have the world's largest collection of original Yellow Submarine artwork.

Drawings used to produce the film are valued at up to £2,500 each.

Meg said: "This auction will be the end of my cel collection. We had to go through everything and decide which I was prepared to see go. But the drawings, I won't sell.

"Rock memorabilia is our generation's family heirlooms.

"Modern generations want to remember more about modern life. These icons from the Sixties seem a more meaningful."

But despite her love of The Beatles, Meg regrets never meeting any of the Fab Four in person, despite sending them occasional gifts.

She lived in New York at the same time as Lennon during the Seventies but never caught a glimpse of him.

She said: "I lived on 98th Street and had friends who said you could see him every Saturday at 6.30am in the vegetable shop on 96th Street.

"But I never got up in time. I never imagined he would be taken away so suddenly."

Pictures of the Yellow Submarine images up for auction are available at www.penny lanegallery.com by following the Film Art link.