A group of metal detectorists stole Anglo Saxon coins worth £3 million as well as "invaluable" ancient jewellery they found in a field before selling them onthe black market, a court heard.

George Powell, 38, and Layton Davies, 51, are accused of failing to declare a priceless hoard of 1,000-year-old buried treasure they discovered on farmland in June 2015.

The pair along with Paul Wells, 60, and Simon Wicks, 57, went on trial on Thursday accused of conspiring to conceal the treasure at Worcester Crown Court.

Their valuable find was said to include a gold ring, bracelet and silver ingot from the ninth century, a crystal ball pendant from the fifth century and 300 coins, includingsome from the era of Alfred the Great.

Jurors were told all four were aware of the law which states buried treasure must be declared, but chose to ignore it and proceeded to sell the items in small batches to anumber of customers.

Opening the prosecution's case, Kevin Hegarty QC said: "This case you are to hear in two words is about buried treasure.

"They decided to treat the find as theirs and not to declare it to the landowner, the tenant farmer and the coroner. In short, they stole it."

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Metal detectorists accused of stealing £3m haul of Anglo Saxoncoins and jewellery after finding it in field (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/03/metal-detectorists-accused-stealing-3m-haul-anglo-saxon-coins/)