GASPS and cheers greeted the sale of a range of unusual items at an episode of Bargain Hunt which was recorded at an auction house at Barnton.

The episode of the popular BBC TV series was filmed at Northwich Auction at the end of November, and was due to be screened on Monday.

However Bargain Hunt fans and people who attended the sale and missed the programme will still be able to catch it on the BBC iPlayer.

In the TV programme two teams of amateur collectors have an hour at an antiques fair in which to acquire the best bargains possible with £300, and the winning team is the one which makes the most money at the subsequent sale.

Teams spent their money at an antiques fair on Anglesey in north Wales before their items went under the hammer at Northwich Auction Antiques and Collectibles Centre in Runcorn Road, Barnton.

Word spread that the Bargain Hunt team was due to film at the auction centre, which was packed for the sale.

“The teams were given money to spend at an antiques fair at Anglesey, and the items they bought were sold with us,” said Northwich Auction Centre office manager Becky Taylor.

“You do not appreciate how long the filming takes when you watch the programme on television.

“The team were here from 7.30am until about 5pm, and it was packed for the auction.

“The word had got round about the filming, and we had old and new customers, with a lot of people coming down especially for the auction.

“The atmosphere was electric, and when some of the items came up there were lots of gasps and cheers – it was great fun.”

Among the more unusual items which were due to go under the hammer were a milk/cheese stool, a Welsh slate inkwell, miniature folding scissors from the 1920s and an ARP reading lamp from The Second World War.

The sale was conducted by auctioneer Peter Critchley, the owner of Northwich Auction Centre.

Fortnightly sales of more than 900 lots are held at the firm’s Northwich and Warrington premises.