Experts cast doubt over claims made by a 27-year-old man that he owns one of the world's great art collections with pieces by van Gogh, Rembrandt and others

It is one of the world's finest art collections in private hands with paintings by van Gogh, Picasso and Rembrandt among others. It even contains a previously undiscovered version of Edvard Munch's The Scream, perhaps the most famous modern artwork ever created.

So when the owner Mark Lawrence declared he wanted to build a gallery and put the works on public display in his hometown, the local council in Reading gave him its full support, calling it a "prestigious collection" that it was "thrilled" to show.