A PLAN of the Titanic's sprawling first class section which was taken off the liner by a survivor has emerged for sale for £18,000.

The large fold-out booklet shows the layout of the top five decks of the Titanic which were exclusively for first class travellers.

It provides a 'road map' of the many facilities available including restaurants, swimming baths, a gymnasium and squash courts.

There are also photos of the lavish accommodation suites which were extravagantly decorated with expensive furniture.

The plan was salvaged by Helen Wilson, who was staying in first class as a maid to the wealthy Spedden family.

She boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg on April 10, 1912, with her employers, American banker Frederic and his wife Daisy Spedden, their young son Douglas and his nurse maid Elizabeth Burns.

They escaped the Titanic in lifeboat 3, Miss Wilson clutching the plan.

She kept hold of it for several decades before gifting it to her neighbour, the vendor's great aunt, in New Jersey, US, in the 1930s.

The 41ins by 29ins plan, headed 'White Star Line, Southampton-Cherbourg-New York Service, First Class Accommodation, has been consigned for sale with Henry Aldridge and Son, of Devizes.

It is one of just a handful of plans in existence known to have been rescued from the liner which sunk with the loss of 1,522 lives.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "Miss Wilson was the maid for the extremely well known Spedden family whose young son Douglas was seen clutching a teddy bear on the Titanic, with the bear's adventure made into a book.

"The Titanic was 882ft long so the plan was effectively a 'road map' to help Miss Wilson find the relevant first class places.

"It is an exceptionally rare item."

The plan, which would either have been handed out to first class passengers upon arrival or sent to them ahead in advance of travelling, contains photos showcasing the glamorous interiors of the Titanic's first class suites.

The Parlour Suites on B and C Deck were the most desirable, comprising two large bedrooms, two walk-in wardrobes, a private bathroom, a lavatory, a spacious sitting room and a private promenade deck.

The sitting rooms, large enough to accommodate small parties of guests, boasted a faux fireplace, a large card table, plush sofas and chairs, sideboards and writing desks.

The luxury didn't come cheap, however, as a suite cost up to £870, £93,960 in today's money.

It was a very different story for the Titanic's second class passengers, who slept in cabins with four berths and had communal bathrooms.

Third class passengers squeezed in to bunks in crowded quarters where there were only two bathtubs available to 710 people.

Titanic departed Southampton for her ill-fated maiden voyage to New York on April 10, 1912.

The 46,000 tonne liner struck an iceberg four days later and sank at 2.20am on April 15.

There were 325 first class passengers on board the Titanic, of which 202 survived.