I asked an Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt expert to rank my charity shop finds – here’s what to look out for

ANTIQUES expert Charles Hanson has achieved fame thanks to his countless appearances on programmes such as Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt.

However, Charles also has another budding venture on social media which has caught the attention of his fans.

The TV star has created a new weekly Twitter challenge called 'Track the Treasure', whereby he engages with his followers to create a guessing game as to how much they think a number of items are worth.

Now, a Bargain Hunt superfan and Derbyshire Live reporter has attempted to put Charles' knowledge to the test to advise people what items they should be looking out for.

Fan Adam Toms visited Lighthouse Charity Shop on Station Road in Hatton, Derbyshire to pick up a number of items to get them valued by Charles to see if he had managed to pick up any hidden gems.

Writing about his finds, Adam penned: ";The objects that stood out to me among the array of items donated by locals were a teacup and saucer (£4.95), some cutlery made in Sheffield (£3.95), and a copper saucepan (£20) which looked like it had some age to it.

"As it turned out, these proved prudent choices as Charles said he was 'very impressed' during our meeting later that day."

Adam continued: "The cutlery in its original case was indeed made in the Steel City, the knife, spoon and fork being silver plated and made in the 1930s.

"The set’s value today is around the same as what I paid for it.

"The copper saucepan meanwhile, which Mr Hanson described as his 'favourite thing', dated to the 1850s and had clearly seen much use during its long life."

Looking over the items, it appeared that Charles was largely impressed as he offered up his advice on what new antique collectors should look for.

He admitted it is best to find items that have an appeal to the mass market as this can raise the value should more people be interested in an item.

Charles also confirmed that depending on where you sell an item can have an impact.

He admitted that selling certain items in 'posh shops' in the Cotswolds are likely to bring in higher prices than they are in Derbyshire.

Charles added: "I think what’s important is you look for things you like, and I always say to people that when you track the treasure you must look at what you think is going to appeal to the mass market and what’s got style.

"It’s great that we live in a world where we can recycle, we can put money towards good causes in charity shops, you can buy proper antiques and live with them because you like them and see a return on your investment."