BRITISH builder Brian Cairns has unlocked a fortune as brass doorknobs he paid £20,000 (US$29,747) for were valued at £2 million.

    The 55-year-old bought the 12-ton load that had been stashed in storage in a basement for 40 years.

    The collection of door knobs and handles have now been identified as an Italian vintage made by Valli and Columbo.

    Brian, of South Shields, Tyne and Wear, is now selling the collection in a series of auctions.

    He said: “I bought it all for scrap but I started looking into what they really were and realized many were vintage Italian handles.

    “I sent the inventory off to an Italian company who told me the lots were worth £2 million.

    “These are items that you would never have thought you would have the chance to buy. It’s a once in a lifetime thing. I think I was just lucky.”

    Brian bought the brass goods — including light switches, hat stands and letter boxes — from a millionaire in Penzance, Cornwall.

    He had kept them in storage for 40 years saying he never wanted to look at them because they reminded him of his wife.

    He had a total of 655,000 brass objects — many of them screws and hinges — but other larger pieces.

    While some of the knobs are worth just pence, there are a huge number of highly sought-after antique door-openers, worth in excess of £150 each.

    Father-of-four Brian hired two 2.5-ton lorries to transport the handles — made by the Italian company that closed 55 years ago.

    The journey took two days to complete the 500-mile (804 -km) journey because the vehicles could only average 20 mph because of the weight.

    They are now to go on sale at Jarrow Auction Rooms.(SD-Agencies)