Herefordshire Hoard to feature on Bargain Hunt

A Viking hoard found in Herefordshire with an estimated value of £3m is set to feature on BBC show Bargain Hunt.

The 1,100-year-old Herefordshire Hoard, including coins and jewellery, was discovered near Leominster in 2015.

In the programme, which airs at 12:15 BST on BBC One on Friday, presenter Roo Irvine visits Herefordshire Council's History Store. Filming also includes the Secondhand Antiques Centre in Leominster.

Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst said: "Herefordshire is rich with history, including our time as a military and royal powerhouse during the Anglo-Saxon and Norman eras, and as the Hoard shows, with trading and heritage dating right back to the time of Vikings."

The cabinet member for Environment and Culture added: "Hundreds of thousands of local people and visitors enjoy our heritage tourism offer every year, and it's great to see part of our history brought on to national TV screens once more.

"Heritage forms a major part of our £800m plus visitor economy, and as a council we are keen to do everything we can to support our brilliant tourism businesses to continue to thrive."

In 2019, the two metal detectorists who made the original discovery were jailed for theft and concealing their find.

George Powell was jailed for 10 years, while Layton Davies was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years.

Sentencing the men, Judge Nicholas Cartwright said they had "cheated" the public.

The hoard included a 9th Century gold ring, a dragon's head bracelet, a silver ingot and a crystal rock pendant.

At the time, experts theorised the coins, which were Saxon, had been hidden by a Viking.

They said the finds provided fresh information about the unification of England and showed there was an alliance previously not thought to exist between the kings of Mercia and Wessex.

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