A FAMILY auctioneers which was once at the heart of the St Albans business community has returned to the city it once called home.

JP Humbert Auctioneers left the district in the 1980s but made a welcome comeback yesterday (Wednesday) with a valuation day at the Old Town Hall.

The family firm has had a presence in Hertfordshire since the 19th Century and only left St Albans when its office in Romeland, which specialised in land and property, closed in the 80s.

Jonathan Humbert, managing director of JP Humbert Auctioneers, said: “I am very excited about returning to St Albans with my team and having been born and brought up here, it very much feels like coming home.”

Mr Humbert’s auction house is now based in Towcester and regularly features on TV shows such as Celebrity Cash in the Attic and Antiques Road Trip.

Mr Humbert said the service was long overdue for St Albans. He added: “In these cash-strapped times clients need a facility to realise the value of their chattels and turn them into money in the bank rather than gathering dust in the dressing table or sideboard.”

It will be the first valuation day of what will become a regular event on the calendar, with the firm hosting valuation days on the first Wednesday of every month. The next event will be on November 2.

Valuations will be free but the firm ask that donations be made to charity. They run 10am-3pm. To find out more call 01327 359595.