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Two fezzes worn and signed by Caerphilly-born magician Tommy Cooper are expected to sell for thousands of pounds at auction this month.

The signature red hats from the 1960s are being sold by a former restaurateur from Norfolk whose late husband, a Tommy Cooper fan, was gifted by a customer.

The seller, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “The fezzes have been treasured for decades by my husband. In the 1990s a customer at our old family restaurant in the seaside town of Cromer in Norfolk gave them to us.

“My husband and all his family were Tommy Cooper mad. That’s why the lovely customer gifted them to us. We have sold the restaurant after more than 40 years and decided it was time to part with the fezzes.”

TV antiques expert Charles Hanson was holding a valuation at his saleroom in Roughton, Norfolk, when the fezzes were brought in.

Mr Hanson said: “I’m a huge fan of Tommy Cooper, a comedy-magic genius who entertained millions. After the Second World War, he became one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers.

“But it was during the war that his fez became his emblem. Legend has it he was performing for soldiers in Cairo, Egypt, when he reached out and borrowed a fez from a passing waiter. It got such laughs it became his trademark.

“It added a visual fun element to his comical expressions and lumbering 6ft 4in frame and he never performed without one. The prop is now regarded as an icon of 20th century comedy. To find not one but two fezzes was magical for me. One is inscribed ‘Just like that 1965’. The other in inscribed, ‘To Dan (?) Many thanks Tommy Cooper’.

“The owner was thrilled to learn they could make between £2,000 and £3,000 each under the hammer. In 2010 a Tommy Cooper fez achieved £4,750 at auction.

“It never ceases to amaze me what people have tucked away at home. The hats date back to Tommy’s entertainment heyday. They were gifted to the seller’s family around 30 years ago. Sadly, Tommy is no longer with us but his magic lives on and his fezzes will be coveted, possibly by fellow magicians.”

The fezzes are due to go under the hammer on September 7.

Who was Tommy Cooper?

Commemorated with his very own statue in Caerphilly town centre, after fundraising efforts by the Tommy Cooper Society, the much-loved comedian and magician was born on Llwyn On Street, near Energlyn and Churchill Park railway station, on March 19, 1921.

He spent much of his youth living in Devon however, and went on to become one of the UK’s best-known entertainers during the height of his fame.

He discovered his talent for performing while with the army in the Middle East during World War II, before making his television debut in 1947.

Cooper died of a heart attack on stage in London in 1984, aged 62, with many in the audience initially believing it was part of his act.