A CHIPPED plate found in a cottage in Somerset sold for £567,000 at auction last week.

The 500-year-old Italian maiolica plate, which was hanging precariously behind a door, was spotted by Dorset auctioneer Richard Bromell, who said it was the most exciting find of his career.

Richard said: “It was almost an Only Fools and Horses moment as the pottery plate was hanging on a makeshift wire frame in the client’s cottage.

“Not only that, but most of it was hidden by a door which was always kept open! It’s scary to think what could have happened to it. It’s pottery – if you drop it it doesn’t bounce."

The female owner, who was having a clear-out ahead of moving out of her house near Yeovil, inherited the antique from her father. She had no idea of its value and only decided to get it looked at because she was downsizing.