Entertainment

Metal detecting has a lure which many hobbies can’t boast - because you could find some treasure.

Valuable finds like the Winchester Hoard and the Ringlemere Cup have both been unearthed by metal detectorists.

Just last year a series of Viking silver bracelets were found buried in Cheshire and a fourth century Roman copper-alloy dog found on the Isle of Wight.

We went out with a group of local metal detectorists – you can see the film by following the link below.

A government report last year also showed that archaeological finds across the UK have shot up by almost 50 per cent because of work by metal detector hobbyists.

In fact the Culture Secretary David Lammy praised the "responsible approach" of amateur metal detectorists in reporting finds and said that they were the "unsung heroes of the UK's heritage".

In the past detectorists and archaeologists have enjoyed a variable relationship – a 1995 survey by the Council for British Archaeology concluded that of the hundreds of thousands of artefacts recovered by detectorists every year, only a fraction were being reported to museums.  But since then the appointment of Finds Liaison Officers across the UK have brought a surge in reported finds.

In 2005/2006 there were 57,566 finds reported compared with 39,933 in 2004/2005.

Under the Treasure Act 1996, people who find gold and silver objects more then 300 years old have a legal obligation to report them to the authorities.

The Council for British Archaeology also has strong advice to anyone who wants to take up the hobby.

It suggest that you should avoid land nearby or around protected sites, ensure that you obtain permission from the landowner, report your finds, work only upon ground that has already disturbed, get expert help if you discover something large and call the police if you find any live explosives.