A BROMSGROVE genealogist has written a new book offering a guide to tracing people's roots in the Birmingham area.

Tracing Your Birmingham Ancestors, introduces researchers to the wealth of information available at the Library of Birmingham, and provides a self-help guide for anyone just starting out on their family history journey.

The book has been written by Mike Sharpe from the town, who runs the websites for the Bromsgrove branch of the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry, the Bromsgrove Society, and the Romsley and Hunnington History Society.

Birmingham has excellent archives, many of national and international significance, but research can be a challenge because of rapid population growth, frequent boundary changes and the city’s position straddling three historic counties - that have all led to local history resources being widely dispersed.

“Tracing family in Birmingham can be tricky”, Mike said.

“People moved around a lot, communities such as Catholics and Nonconformists kept their own records, and Birmingham itself was constantly growing, gobbling up neighbouring districts.”

The book also features a number of references to local archives and useful websites, and provides a whistle-stop tour through the history of Birmingham to give readers a flavour for how our Brummie ancestors lived.

Tracing Your Birmingham Ancestors will be officially published later this month.

It will be available at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live Show, at the National Exhibition Centre from April 16 until 18, and as a download on the publisher's website pen-and-sword.co.uk.