Staff at Forty Hall were astounded to discover they had been sitting on a collection of Egyptian statues of national importance.

The four Egyptian shabti, or funerary figures, had been in the museum's collection for many years with no-one realising their worth until a researcher from the British Museum contacted museum manager, Val Munday, with the news they were highly valuable.

Ms Munday said: "We were amazed when we found out how special our little Egyptian figures were. One of these figures, called a shabti, is a very special type, known as an overseer, who is purported to control the regular shabti figures.

"Our overseer figure is from the tomb of a king's daughter, called Nes, and it dates from the 22nd Dynasty, 950-700 BC. It is made of faience, a type of pottery covered with a bright blue glaze and is 12cm tall.

A shabti is a small figure depicting an adult male or female and inscribed with writings from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. They would have been placed in the tombs of pharaohs and other important dignitaries, so that they might perform duties in the afterlife.

The figures are now on display in Forty Hall, Forty Hill where they will remain until the new museum in London Road opens.