HOUSEHOLDERS in Bolton raided their attics and then queued up to show TV experts what they found.

Hundreds took along their antiques and collectables to the Albert Halls where a TV crew was filming for the BBC2 show, Flog It.

The show, which pulls in more than two million viewers for its mid-week slot, involves people taking unwanted antiques to experts, who decide which ones will be put forward for sale at a televised auction.

Flamboyant presenter Paul Martin said enough antiques were brought along yesterday to the valuation day to make three programmes.

He added: "We've seen some wonderful pieces of art, ceramics and silverware, and one or two pieces which relate to Bolton's industrial heritage."

"We've been overwhelmed with the turnout and still had people coming through the doors in the afternoon, so we've got plenty of material to make three programmes.

"Everybody has been very friendly and we've been made to feel very welcome in the town." A queue began to form outside the Albert Halls at 6am. Among those who took items to the valuation session was Susan Bond, aged 42, of Astley Bridge.

She took a teddy bear which she had found in the loft of her house in Deane Church Lane, Deane, 20 years ago.

"It only turned out to be worth about £50, but more than anything else I wanted to know how old it was and where it was likely to have come from," she said.

"They told me it was from the 1940s or 1950s.

Brenda Pickup, aged 64, originally from Farnworth, but now living in Leyland, took a collection of Staffordshire pottery, including a cake stand, which was valued at a total of £100.

She said: "I was interested to find out about where the plates were from but I knew they didn't have any great value.

"My mother used it all the time but it doesn't get used any more."

The auction will take place in Knutsford, Cheshire, in six weeks time and the programme will be shown in December.

TV producers were keeping quiet about which items would be going forward to the auction to be shown on TV.