A tombola salvaged from the wreckage of the The Grand hotel bombing in Brighton was the highlight of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow last night.

Millions of viewers saw the hexagonal box valued at £5,000 by experts on the show, which was filmed at Eastbourne.

Bob Guy, 66, from Hailsham, bought the tombola for £200 at a charity auction shortly after the bombing.

Five people were killed and 30 injured when the IRA targeted the Conservative Party conference at the hotel on October 12, 1984.

The tombola was supposed to have been used in a prize draw during the conference, and contained tickets signed by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and cabinet members Norman Tebbitt and Geoffrey Howe among others.

Mr Guy, who had worked as an apprentice chef in the hotel in the 1960s, had remembered the tombola being used in the ballroom at that time.

When he saw it was up for auction in aid of a hospital charity, he decided to buy it.

The tombola ended up being stored in Mr Guy’s attic for years until he recently brought it out and sifted through the tickets inside to find any well known signatures.

He then decided to bring it along to the Eastbourne Bandstand when the Antiques Roadshow was filming.

The tombola was described by Fiona Bruce as being linked to “probably the most daring attempt on the British government since the Gunpowder Plot”.

She said: “Given that it is connected with such an important moment in our history, where democracy was nearly wiped out overnight, our experts believe it could be as valuable as £5,000.”