Four letters that John Lennon's killer wrote to the New York City police officer who arrested him are on sale through a Los Angeles auction house, Belfast Telegraph reported.

The letters from Mark David Chapman to Stephen Spiro are for sale starting at a fixed price of 75,000 dollars (£49,000) , says Gary Zimet, owner of Moments in Time.

Mr Zimet says he's selling the letters on behalf of Mr Spiro, who arrested Chapman on December 8, 1980, shortly after Lennon was shot outside his Manhattan building.

In the letters from 1983, Chapman asks for help locating his copy of The Catcher in the Rye, the novel he was reading when he was arrested.

In August, the 57-year-old Chapman, who is serving a sentence of 20 years to life, was denied parole for the seventh time.