Antiques Roadshow guest's valuable family heirlooms 'frighten' his grandson 'to death'

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow.

An guest brought in two 175-year-old walking sticks that had another purpose.

expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan was thrilled to inspect a duo of antique walking staffs that doubled as "defenders" remarking: "These are absolutely bonkers and that's what they're made for, bonking people on the head with."

"I mean the faces are just out there, aren't they? Have you had them long?"

The owner replied: "Personally, just a matter of months really but they've been in the family 90, probably 100 years."

Delving deeper into the history of these curious objects, Archer-Morgan pointed out: "Well they are his and hers actually, this is a she and that's a he."

"Glass eyes, both of them, they are incredible folk art. Folk art's a funny area.

"You can never be exactly sure with certain things like these and these are definitely British.

"I do think they're probably Welsh, they're a fruit wood, could be pear probably and they're about 1850. They could actually be a bit earlier."

Archer-Morgan didn't miss a beat even when noting damage to one stick, jesting: "And this one has lost a lump there. I reckon that missing piece is embedded in someone's skull right now."

This prompted a playful response from the guest, who chuckled, "Not guilty!", much to everyone's delight.

Archer-Morgan continued: "But I love this kind of folk art, it's caricature-ish, it's just, as I said, bonkers.

"They're so funny, so humorous and they're so well executed."

However, upon questioning the owner's affection for the items, he revealed: "To a certain extent."

In a hilarious twist, he admitted: When my grandson stays he won't have them in the room. He's frightened to death of them!"

The expert replied: "Really? Well I suppose if you're not used to the idea they're quite scary."

Moving on to the valuation, the expert announced: "But scary or not, the price might scare you, they're about £400 each, so that's £800 for the pair."

The owner barely batted an eyelid at the value, instead quipping: "Well that's better than being under the bed, isn't it?"

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.