Detectorist who stole £3m of Viking treasure gets extra five years in jail

The items, many of which were Anglo Saxon but are typical of a Viking burial hoard, were dug up on Herefordshire farmland on June 2, 2015. Credit: West Mercia Police

A metal detectorist who stole an estimated £3m worth of Viking treasure has had his jail sentence extended after failing to pay back more than £600,000.

Layton Davies, formerly of Pontypridd, was jailed in 2019, alongside accomplice George Powell, for failing to declare the collection of rare Viking and Anglo-Saxon coins and jewellery.

They had discovered the treasure on a farm in Herefordshire in 2015 and then broke up the hoard, offering items for sale to private dealers and auctioneers.

The pair were caught after deleted images showed a much larger hoard on Davies' phone.

The collection dates back 1,100 years to the reign of King Alfred the Great, with experts saying the discovery revealed new information on the ancient kings of Mercia and Wessex.

Among the priceless hoard was a 9th century gold ring, a dragon's head bracelet, a silver ingot, a crystal rock pendant dating to the fifth century and up to 300 coins, some dating to the reign of King Alfred.

It is thought the trove was buried by someone within the Great Viking Army in either 878 or 879.

Detectorists George Powell (left) and Layton Davies (right) were jailed for stealing for Viking hoard. Credit: West Mercia Police

Davies had already served five years of his eight-and-a-year sentence but has now been handed another five years and three months for failing to pay back the money made from selling the treasure.

That amounted to £670,381 in total, £70,375 of which was interest on the sum.

Debbie Price, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor of the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said: “Greed led Layton Davies to ignore his duty to report the found treasure and instead sell it for his own benefit.

“An experienced detectorist, Davies would have known he was entitled to half of the proceeds of legal sale of the treasure, instead choosing the deprive the landowner and public by stealing this exceptional and significant treasure.

“This case shows that the CPS takes our duty to ensure crime doesn’t pay seriously, Davies has failed to pay so we have taken him back to court and his additional default sentence means he now faces a further five years in prison.”

In the last five years, 2018 to 2023, more than £480 million has been recovered from CPS obtained Confiscation Orders. The objective is to ensure convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending.

£105m of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.

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