PAINTINGS and silver and jewellery specialists from a leading fine art auction house are hoping to make exciting discoveries when they visit Pershore.

Maryanne Lineker-Mobberley, head of the silver and jewellery department and James Forster, head of the pictures department at Halls will be available to give free valuations at No 8 Community Arts Centre from 10am to 1pm on Friday, September 4. They will also make home appointments to visit collections during their visit to the county, where Halls has made several exciting discoveries in the past.

Miss Lineker-Mobberley said: "Our visit to Worcestershire is a great opportunity for members of the public to discover the history as well as the true market value of silver, jewellery and paintings that may have been handed down through generations of the same family. It’s always exciting because we never know what we are going to see during our visits.”

Treasures so far unearthed in Worcestershire by Halls, which have gone on to be sold at auction, include a £22,000 amber bead necklace, an £8,800 two stone diamond ring, two Victorian silver tea services at £2,500 each and a £2,000 five stone diamond ring. The company’s most significant discovery to date was a previously unrecorded work by popular 18th century English equestrian artist John Wootton which sold for £326,000 in 2010.