One expert was left speechless when he discovered a priceless artefact in a cardboard box - and went on to sell it for £1million. Expert Richard Madley was quizzed about the biggest profit he's ever made as an antiques buff - and had the perfect answer.

Richard said: "I found a gold medal in a cardboard box which I sold for £1million, and a small lead Henry Moore sculpture I found in a Wiltshire farmhouse made £320,000. Oh yes - I found and sold some old rugby jerseys and photos found in an airing cupboard which I sold for £60,000. But who's counting!"

On Bargain Hunt specifically, his best find was a "vintage scratch-built green painted toy train c.1930, which cost me all of £5 in Cardiff Antiques Market and went on to sell very well at auction in Carmarthen."

Richard's collecting hobby started from a young age, and proved profitable enough to help him buy his first house. He explained to the BBC: "I started with stamps then moved to coins but became hooked on bottles (all by the age of 11). My father bought me a box of Britains lead soldiers which I added to, then sold them all to buy my first house.

"I built up an impressive collection of postcards which I sold to re-roof that first house. I built up an even better collection of Poole Pottery over twenty years which I sold to pay school fees.

"My current area of collecting is Wisden Cricketers' Almanacks, which I will probably sell to finance my nursing home fees!"

It's not the only million-pound find on Bargain Hunt, as Christina Trevanion was stunned when she heard a set of tribal masks could sell for as much as £2million at auction. She saw expert Sam Hanbury-Maiden's collection, which was "highly desirable for collectors".