THE Chadwick looked more like the Antiques Roadshow than a hotel when auction house Sotheby's came to visit on Tuesday (March 3).

And there were surprises for some Fylde folk - notably a silver bracelet worth up to £3,000 and a painting which could fetch £20,000 at auction.

The hotel, on South Promenade, St Annes, played host to two experts from the London-based firm who were offering free evaluations and the chance to auction goods of value in the capital.

Hundreds of people queued for more than three hours anxious to find out if they had a Constable - or just a plain con.

Many people turned away after seeing the size of the queue, but those who stayed found out a little of the history of their pieces and a general price.

Martyn Downer, deputy director of the jewellery department, said that there were some nice surprises in the form of gold and silver pieces.

Meanwhile, his companion John Phillips had his work cut out for him with paintings and pottery brought in by the truckload.

Some paintings were photographed for experts back in London to study to decide their authenticity.

Many were left in the hands of Sotheby's to be sold around May.

One couple left happy that their A J Munnings painting could collect £20,000 at auction - even though John wasn't 100 per cent sure that it was real.

He said: "I'm very wary to say for definite with this type of price when it could turn out to be a fake."

The couple's two other pictures were valued at around £1,750 for the pair.

And how quickly would they sell their painting?

"It's not for sale. It's a family heirloom," came the reply from the proud owners.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.