By
Press Association 2021
Shane Wood and Kim Holman court case
A metal detectorist who unearthed one of the largest ever hoard of Iron Age coins in Britain and decided to keep 23 of them as a “memento” will have his metal detector destroyed.
Groundworker Shane Wood, 62, found the treasure while on a walk in Chelmsford, Essex, in September last year.
Ashley Petchey, prosecuting, told Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court that “avid birdwatcher” Wood saw a feather fall from a buzzard and noticed a gold item in the field where it landed.
Wood went home to fetch his metal detector and made the discovery, placing the coins into a bin liner.