Latest news with #Bridgnorth
The Sun
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
I paid £70 for rare painting worth £8,000 at car boot sale – my three must-follow tips to find gems
ANTIQUES lover Sally-Ann Cathcart can often be seen hunting for treasures at car boot sales - but one find has left her quids in. The 50-year-old antiques dealer from North Shropshire paid just £70 for a pair of paintings - and she's now been told they could sell for £8,000 at auction. 4 4 4 She was on one of her regular car boot sale trips in Bridgnorth when she spotted the paintings and immediately she knew she'd stumbled across something incredibly special. That's because the ultra-rare paintings were the work of one of the UK's most famous artists, Percy Shakespeare - and they were going for a bargain price. 'My eyes lit up when I saw them,' she told The Sun. 'I literally had that little heart flutter. I knew instantly what they were.' Sally-Ann said the man who sold her the paintings was a regular at car boot sales but 'clearly didn't know the value' of the art. The seller had got hold of the paintings while doing a house clearance for a lady. Unbelievably, they had been sat at the bottom of a trunk underneath a pile of old newspapers and magazines. The 1928 watercolour paintings show two children - a young boy and a girl - and Sally-Ann believes they may have been the children of the lady who owned the trunk. The paintings hadn't been in a frame or come with a plastic covering but Sally-Ann said they were in incredible condition as they had been kept inside the trunk for so long. She says she snapped them up immediately, and still has them 10 years on. Sally-Ann is a huge fan of Percy Shakespeare and is planning to keep hold of the paintings because she loves them so much. Antiques Roadshow guest is stunned by huge value of charity shop earrings bought for £5 But it was only recently that she decided to get them valued - and she was given a huge shock. An expert told her she could likely get £8,000 for the paintings if she took them to auction. 'I just have a second of thinking, 'have I heard you correctly?',' she said. 'I wanted to punch the air.' Other pieces of art from Percy Shakespeare that have gone to auction have sold for 10 times their estimated value, Sally-Ann says. If that came true for her, she could net herself a whopping £80,000 - although of course you never know what someone will pay at auction. The money might be tempting, but Sally-Ann says she plans to keep the paintings. 'I would only sell them if I absolutely really needed to because I just want to treasure them,' she says. The antiques dealer might be planning to keep hold of this rare find, but she's also made a small business out of buying and selling treasures from car boot sales and vintage fairs. Some of her clients include Cath Kidston, the National Trust and Pinewood Studios. 'Pinewood Studios is always fascinating because it could be like 'right we're doing a 1950s film and we need a petrol blue car'. 'Sometimes I'll be like, yeah, actually funnily enough, I've got one in the garage. Is this any good to you?' She's even sent an order to St James's Palace, where Princess Anne and Princess Beatrice live. Sally-Ann started out collecting antiques as a child when her grandma used to take her to Birmingham rag markets. 'I guess I've grown up with that old-fashioned rooting through, finding the best bargains,' she said. She bought her first antique - a 1920s art deco wallet - at around seven years old. 'I've always felt very comfortable in old places, old buildings,' she says. 'I love that whole old-fashioned mentality of let's make do and mend, which I think is perhaps coming back into fashion now. And then I've built a business out of it.' Now she'll often get requests from clients who ask her to search for specific items and she'll go on a hunt for them. Sally-Ann says she might for example be able to pick up a mirror for £5 and then sell it on for £120 to £150. Other memorable finds SALLY-ANN says she buys everything secondhand and her best finds end up staying with her. These are the ones she treasures the most… Vintage barometer The antiques dealer owns one of the oldest barometers produced by optician James Aitchison, who later went on to form optician chain Dollond & Aitchison in 1750. Sally-Ann says she picked up the antique for just £2 at a car boot sale last year. Photo album Another find is a photo album from the 1900s, which she snapped up for just £1. Sally-Ann says the photos inside show holidays and some sort of boating event. Photo of a World War One soldier Sally-Ann also picks out a photograph of a soldier from World War One. 'He looks about 16, and it's a beautiful French photograph of him,' she says. 'It hangs in my house and it has done for about 25 years.' Sally-Ann's top tips for finding valuable antiques The antiques dealer says she's developed an eye for something valuable over the years, but it's always worth going along to a car boot sale and seeing what you can find. 'The key things for car boots are take plenty of change, take comfortable shoes, take lots of bags, get there early,' she says. But her biggest tip is to remember your manners when talking to sellers. 'People will expect you to haggle at a car boot. So, if somebody says the item is £2, it is absolutely fine to say, 'would you take £1, please? 'And if they say, no, I wouldn't, no problem, you just decide whether you want to pay the £2 or not.' Sally-Ann says that around 70% of the time sellers will take the lower price, so you shouldn't be afraid to haggle but 'just do it with politeness and courtesy'. Sally-Ann says she's seen people throwing items back down onto the seller's table after not getting a lower price - and that's not the way to go. Another of her tips is that if we see something you like, you shouldn't wait around. 'Because if you leave it, I promise you, when you go back it will be gone,' she says. Sally-Ann says it's easy to start buying and selling antiques. 'You haven't got to invest thousands of pounds. You can take £20 or even £10 in cash this weekend, go to the car boot sale and just see what you can get.'
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment father and son fishermen attack water bailiffs when they are caught angling without a licence
Shocking footage shows two fishermen violently attacking water bailiffs by the side of a lake after being caught angling without a licence. Sidney Bowman, 75, and his son Andrew, 44, assaulted the Environment Agency officials at a fishery near Bridgnorth, Shropshire, in September 2023. A court was told the pair had been fishing when they were approached by the two bailiffs - also known as fisheries enforcement officers - who were checking for rod licences at Poole Hall Fisheries. Topless Andrew Bowmab, 44, can be seen sitting on a camping chair casually telling them his licence is at home before the incident starts to escalate. 'I refuse to give my details as I don't need to,' he said. 'I ain't fishing no more. I'm leaving the fishery now so you have no reason to follow me.' After the officers cautioned Andrew for not providing his details, he became 'verbally and physically threatening' and began to move his equipment. The officers fearing for their safety moved a fishing knife away and said they were removing his fishing gear for evidence. Andrew hit one officer in the face before his father Sidney runs over saying: 'He's my son.' Sidney then assaulted the officer by attempting to grab his chest, where the officer's radio was, and in doing so poked him in the eye. Andrew was then taken to the ground after he refused to allow the officers to put handcuffs on him and police were also called to the scene. The father and son have now been slapped with fines and costs of more than £12,000 following a hearing at Telford Magistrates Court. Andrew Bowman, of Dudley, West Midlands, was ordered to pay fines totalling £6,937 and £50 in compensation. He had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to assaulting of an emergency worker. Sidney Bowman, 75, also of Dudley, admitted fishing and fishing without a licence. He was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £5,128 - made up of a £660 fine for assault, £146 for fishing without a licence, a victim surcharge of £322 and costs of £4,000. Andrew was then taken to the ground after he refused to allow the officers to put handcuffs on him and police were also called to the scene In a statement the Environment Agency said: 'These sentences handed out show that the courts will not allow assault of public servants to go unpunished. 'It sends out a strong message to other people trying to stop our officers from performing their duties. 'Our officers do endure abuse and threats of violence in carrying out important work to protect people and the environment. 'The Environment Agency will not hesitate to prosecute those that obstruct or assault its staff. 'If people suspect illegal fishing incidents they should call our 24/7 hotline on 0800 807060.'
BBC News
22-05-2025
- BBC News
Gun arrest after woman attacked in Bridgnorth and man threatened
A man has been arrested on suspicion of having a gun and also assault after a woman was attacked and a man threatened in a woman was taken to hospital with injuries to her hand after she was assaulted on Faraday Drive, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, at about 12:30 BST on Wednesday, West Mercia Police attack was linked to an incident several miles away on Innage Lane, later the same afternoon, in which a man was threatened, the force added.A 42-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent and assault and remained in custody. There would be an increased police presence in the area after the two cases, Insp Damian Kelly said."Enquires are ongoing in relation to these incidents," he added. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Shropshire company seeks licence to make explosives
A company has applied to manufacture explosives on an industrial estate in Laboratories said shaped charge warheads, research rocket motors, and pressed pellets would be among the items manufactured at the site at Ditton Priors, near already has a draft licence approved by the Health and Safety Executive to manufacture and/or store a number of local residents and business owners have raised concerns about the safety of the work. Their concerns included the site's proximity to homes, businesses and schools; the safety of transporting materials in and out; and whether the site would be a security of Shropshire Council's licensing and safety sub-committee will consider the application on Friday. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Shropshire's new Reform UK group leader 'up for the challenge'
The new Reform UK group leader on Shropshire Council has said her party is "up for the challenge" of being in opposition, despite having little political party won 16 of 74 seats at local elections earlier this month, making them the second largest group on the Husemann said, despite being political newbies, the group was looking forward to holding the new Liberal Democrat administration to council will meet next week for the first time since the Conservatives lost control of the authority after 16 years in power. Reform UK won seats across the Shropshire Council area on 1 May, including in market towns like Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth, but its most impressive wins came in South Shropshire, where it won seats in traditionally Conservative-voting group, which fielded candidates in all 74 seats, had no councillors prior to the Husemann has been elected the group's first ever leader and will front the party at council meetings."I'm a perfectly ordinary middle-aged lady who just felt things needed to change," said Mrs Husemann, who owned a postgraduate training company before retirement."We're just real, ordinary people, nothing particularly special or exciting, just good hard-working, honest people."It's a big challenge, but we're all up for it – it's what we signed up for," she group has spent the past few weeks in meetings and inductions, learning the ropes ahead of council business politically resuming on 22 May, when all members gather for a full council meeting at the Guildhall in Shrewsbury. Reform UK has already lost a councillor on Shropshire Council, knocking the group's remarkable success in the Edmunds, who won the seat of Hodnet with 36% of the vote, was suspended by the party just days after the election for posting on social media that she intended to defect to another party in the later resigned from Reform UK and will sit as an independent."That was her choice and she's now nothing to do with us," said Mrs Husemann."We know what our target is and we're united in that cause, so we'll just keep our heads down and carry on," she added. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
