An Antiques Roadshow expert was less than impressed as he was presented with a set of war medals that were in a “horrible condition” – but their value left everyone stunned.

Antiques Roadshow fans were left gobsmacked when the astonishing value of a set of war medals was revealed, despite them being in “manky condition”.

BBC expert Mark Smith experienced a mix of shock and dismay as he inspected a series of medals brought in by a mother-and-daughter team who had no idea of the treasures they’d been sitting on.

Kicking off the evaluation, Smith said, “So I’ve had these medals described to me today as Waterloo, Trafalgar, all sorts of things”, only to add with disbelief, “I’ve got to say to you, what have you done to them!”.

With a chuckle, the owner admitted: “Well we obviously haven’t looked after them very well”.

When asked about the identity of the individuals in accompanying photographs, the guest replied, “Well we know they’re family but after that, we were hoping you could bring them to life for us and tell us a bit about how they won their medals.”

Smith disclosed that the photos featured admirals holding the Naval Service General Medal, but couldn’t resist pointing out in jest that one medal was “upside down”, exclaiming with a laugh, “[I] can’t believe it”.

Elaborating on the history, he said: “It covered the period 1793 to 1840. Now usually, you see it with just one clasp, the clasps are the little strips of metal you can see.

“And the one you usually see is this one here which is Syria. When you have a Syria, you always get a little medal next to it which is called the St Jean d’Acre. This one in silver.

“But isn’t just any group of medals. One featured here comes with a personal accolade,” said Smith, revealing, “This man also has a Syria but his St Jean d’Acre is the solid gold version for very senior officers.

“So the five clasps that he has Java, he has Syria, but he has two very rare ones.

“Here’s what I call boat action clasps. So these are people who volunteered to row over to an enemy vessel, climb up the side of the ship with the cutlers in the mouth and the pistol in the belt and be part of the gang that captured the enemy ship.

“I can’t see what it says around the rim because they’re so dirty, you can’t actually read them”, prompting giggles from onlooking guests.

“They’re both pretty ugly”, to which Smith chuckled, “Well I can’t say that they’re pretty ugly. I think they’re lovely.

“The one clasp Naval General Service Medal, you see quite a lot of those.

“Two clasps? That’s getting rare. Three? Almost unheard of. Four? No. Five? Wow.

“You have kept these in the most appalling condition I have ever seen any medals ever and you need to give them to me to take home so I can love them”, voiced Smith, clearly disappointed with the state of the medals.

When the guest inquired about how to go about restoring them, the expert pointed out that they’d likely need to consult a specialist.

The expert on Antiques Roadshow left the guests utterly speechless when he advised them to keep the “faded blue velvet” backdrop untouched, exclaiming: “Please leave it. Absolutely fantastic.”

But the real shocker came when he revealed the true value of their tattered medals: “I sat down and I sat there and thought about this and thought you kept the medals in this horrible condition and they’re worth £100,000.”

The revelation caused a jaw-dropping reaction from the guests, followed by a stunned silence and then laughter.

Smith went on to praise the rarity of the items: “Absolutely beyond stunning. Not museum quality, because you don’t see five bars even in the naval museums. It’s incredible. It’s such a set of medals.

“I am so glad you brought me these horrible, manky Waterloo frames. Thank you so much. Well done.”

Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.