Antiques fans flock to Flog It! at RAF Cosford Museum - with PICTURES

From pigeon paintings to plastic bicycles, the show's experts saw a little bit of everything as fans came out to find out more about the items they had been hoarding.

It is the first time the programme has been to Shropshire in five years – and the production team said they could not have been happier with the venue.

Among the people singing the museum's praises was host Paul Martin, who took the time out of his shooting schedule to pose for pictures and chat with those waiting.

"Surrounded by aviation heritage – it doesn't get much better than this," he said. "The sky's the limit as far as I can see.

"A fantastic crowd of people turned up, but the planes just make for the most dynamic backdrop."

Paul, who stayed at Draper's Hall in Shrewsbury, said Shropshire was the "backbone" of England.

He said: "I love Shropshire, I love Telford, I love the Ironbridge Gorge. This is the backbone of the country, the heart of the industrial revolution."

The shooting was set to be taking place all day today and will make four episodes of the popular series.

Location manager Alex Habgood said: "Cosford is a unique place because it's the home of the RAF Museum. We filmed at the museum in London and I was very keen to bring it to the sister museum.

"Our last shooting in Shropshire was at Weston Park a good five years ago and it was time to come back.

"This is the perfect venue for Flog It! because there's such a good story to tell here.

"It's very easy for people to get to as well. That's a big consideration when you're planning something like this. Does the location have the infrastructure to cope with up to 600 people we'd expect to attend? RAF Cosford ticks all the boxes."

Steven Hole, 58, a photographer, wanted to find out what a painting of his grandfather's pigeons would go for at auction.

And although the Shifnal man couldn't bring himself to sell, he knew that the artwork was worth quite a bit.

"The oil painting is of my grandfather's winning birds from over the course of a season," he said.

"He won what they call the combined averages, and this was presented to him as a gift."

The painting was by prolific pigeon artist Andrew Beer, and the show's experts told Mr Hole that it would be worth up to £600.

"They really wanted me to flog it," Mr Hole said. "It's a family heirloom, it used to hang above my grandfather's fireplace for years. I'd never let it go."

Elaine Humphreys, of Ketley Bank, Telford, brought her father's wartime scrapbook and money he brought back with him. She wanted to know how much it was all worth.

She also brought two ornaments – one of a cat, another of an elephant – which she wanted to know more about.

Celebrating her birthday, it was a chance to see some of the familiar faces from the TV show in the flesh.

"I've had them for years, I can't even remember them coming into the house," she said. "I was interested in what they were made of, and it turns out they were ceramic.

"They weren't worth anything, but they were very interested in my father's scrapbook.

"It's been just as interesting to look around. You like to see what other people have. You can't believe what is out there."

Robert Berry, 44, from Walsall, quickly caught the eye of experts with his plastic bicycle, which he bought from eBay for £75.

Robert, who works for an automotive company, said that it was a concept machine by Volvo and that only about 100 out of 30,000 of them still exist.

"It was built between 1980 and 82 as an alternative to steel," he said.

"I bought it because I used to do static displays at car shows. I'd like to have the £75 back.

"I brought it to RAF Cosford because it's a bit quirky and I wanted to meet the auctioneers."

David and Sam Colquhoun, from Cannock, came with their 200-year-old Georgian tea set.

The couple, who bought the set for £4.50 in a charity shop, wanted to know how much it was worth before using it.

"They said it was worth anywhere between £20 and £50," Sam, 35, said.

"We sort of knew – we were hoping it was a genuine and it was confirmed. We just didn't want it to be a fake.

"I like watching Flog It! – I'm a bit of a fan. When we picked it up, I found out where Flog It! was going to be, so we decided to take the day off and have a day out."

Barbara Prendergast, in her sixties, from Wolverhampton, sat in the queue with two bags full of vintage Corgi cars – never even taken out of the box.

"My son had these when cars when he was young," she said. "They've never been out the box.

"He wanted some money because he's into games and DVDs. I said we'd have the cars valued.

"I have no clue what to expect. We'll just see what happens."