Watch as Buxton couple who run scrapyard share their most impressive treasure finds among the junk
and live on Freeview channel 276
Melissa Drabble, 40, runs scrap metal dealer Tin Man Scrap in Buxton, Derbyshire, 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.
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Hide AdSometimes 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."
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Hide AdChildhood 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.
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Hide AdThey 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.
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Hide AdMelissa 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!
They revealed they also get "interesting bits and bobs" without a huge price tag - but with a very impressive history. hese include things such as old Victorian whistles, soldiers' trench art from WW2, and old police badges.
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Hide AdMelissa 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.”