TWO Herefordshire women put their antique-hunting skills to the test as they appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt yesterday.

Nurse Laura Radcliffe and healthcare assistant Helen Baker, who work at Leominster's Community Hospital, took on the red team, nurse Becky and physiotherapist Ceri at an antiques fair in Builth Wells.

Appearing on the October 31 BBC show, the animal-loving Herefordshire friends vowed to "crush the reds".

The pair, who said they were hoping for someone really knowledgeable to guide them around the fair, were teamed up with expert Kate Bliss, who also hails from Herefordshire, growing up in the county and attending Hereford Cathedral School before studying fine art at Oxford University.

The team was given 60 minutes to find their three items to take to auction, with a £300 budget and a challenge to find a dog-related item.

They snapped up a 1950s Piquot ware tea set for £55, haggling it down from £75, but turned down a pitch pine low set of drawers at £140, instead opting for a Royal Copenhagen French bulldog model, priced at £125 and haggled down to £75, and a pair of Moorish-style oak shutters at £65, haggled down to £60.

Expert Kate Bliss was left with £110 to find a bonus buy for the pair.

The reds chose a pine chest for £70, a milk churn for £20, and a pocket watch for £92.

The items were all taken to auctioneers Fieldings in Stourbridge, where auctioneer Will Farmer put them under the hammer.

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But the twosome took a hit with their Piquot ware, with a £10 loss, and their shutters, with a £45 loss, while their French bulldog took off, earning them a £135 profit.

They chose to go with their expert's bonus buy - a bronze dog model, snapped up for £45, but making a loss on the day of £20.

But despite their losses, the team ended up with an overall profit of £60, beating the reds.

You can watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer by clicking here.

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