A couple who run a scrapyard share their most impressive finds - and say searching through junk is "treasure hunting every day". Melissa Drabble, 40, runs scrap metal dealer Tin Man Scrap, with husband Mark, 41. Alongside that they run Derbyshire Reclamation, where they sell on some of their best finds from the scrap yard.
The parents-of-two are forever finding unique items that have simply been dumped - often with a priceless history. Melissa shares some of their impressive finds on TikTok - to the amazement of her over 100,000 followers on the platform.
Sometimes they have a rich history - such as a Royal military blade dating back to the late 1800s. Melissa also revealed some of the 'junk' left behind can also have an impressive price tag - such as a vintage BMX bike, which was valued at £650.
They also found a series of broken silver trophies - which turned out to be solid silver and hallmarked and went on to sell for £1,000. Melissa said: "Mark and I love history, we’re hoarders.
"We see the stuff people throw away and most of it is still useable - we are shocked by what we find. Everything is so old and well made, it's superior to anything we can buy nowadays.
"It's like treasure hunting every day." Childhood sweethearts Melissa and Mark met in 1999, when they were both teenagers.
Within three years they had two children, Chloe, now 21, and Nathan, now 20. They decided to start a small business together after entrepreneurial Mark had begun "meddling in bits of scrap."
They turned their garden shed into a tiny waste metal yard before expanding to bigger units as the business grew. The initial idea was that people would bring their scrap metal to be weighed in and valued for Mark and Melissa to take it away and recycle.
But they were finding many items that were too good to be melted down - so they began selling on their best finds. Others they keep for themselves - such as a 1980’s Raleigh Styler Burner bicycle which was valued for re-sale at £650, but Mark liked it too much to sell on.
Sometimes they keep items back which are antiques and they anticipate the value will continue to rise as the items get older. Melissa said: "Someone once weighed in some computer games still in their boxes! For the whole bundle - which were pristine - it was about £300.
"One of the best things we have found was a load of crumpled up old trophies. Turns out they were solid silver and hallmarked - we sold them for an amazing £1000!
"We also came across an Edwardian silver pocket watch and albert chain, complete with a silver fob - we sold that on for £180." One of their common finds are old enamel signage - which might look worn, but can still hold its value when it comes to re-selling.
Melissa said to re-sell them, they would be worth between £200 and £500 because they're collectible items. They revealed they also get "interesting bits and bobs" without a huge price tag - but with a very impressive history.
These include things such as old Victorian whistles, soldiers' trench art from WW2, and old police badges. Melissa said: "Sometimes it's not the value of the item but the history that makes it so fascinating and is worth more than the money it would sell for.
"We like to keep some of it - our house looks like a museum! The yard feels like it too because there's just so much history. People like to hear the stories of what it is, so when we do find things I go and try and do some research on where they came from.
"It's nice to know what they’ve done and imagine the person behind them - but you don’t know the actual person that used them." Melissa said their motivation to do what they do is to prove that old things have value still - and can be restored rather than being replaced with a new one.
She said: "If I'm buying something I'll always try and buy vintage. I love old-fashioned and the fifties and sixties stuff, its great. If I can go out and buy an original 1950's cupboard rather than a new one, I will.
"Modern stuff is just not as well made."
