The golden hoarder: £250,000 of antiques found in squalid council flat after death of elderly owner who lived like a pauper

A hoard of antiques discovered in a rubbish-strewn council flat after the owner died has sold for a remarkable £250,000.

Experts who entered the squalid two-bedroom property and were confronted by stacks of old newspapers, cardboard boxes and a disused mattress thought they would discover nothing of value.

But instead they found a remarkable treasure trove of antiques - including a 170-year-old hand-carved bowl from a native American tribe worth £70,000 which had been left in a kitchen cupboard.        More Read