By Ed Chatterton

Top-secret World War II maps used by Allied troops for the D-Day landings have sold at auction for £23,000 (over $30,000) - after being found in a cardboard box.

The collection - giving restricted-access detail of the five landing beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword- was first bought for just £10 from a local auction.

Each map outlined in chilling detail the German defences as well as featuring terrain including hills, woods, villages and roads.

The British military plans pinpointed enemy strongpoints, barbed wire and even minefields, which are marked in purple ink.

The maps only came to light when their owner was rifling through an assorted box of military ephemera bought as part of a £10 (over $13) job lot.

The hoard had previously been in the possessi

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