Somerset man discovers the largest golden nugget ever found in England 

A metal detectorist from Somerset has stumbled upon the largest gold nugget ever found in England.

Richard Brock was hunting in the Shropshire Hills armed with just his metal detector when he found the gold.

He had driven 150 miles to join an organised rally in the Shropshire Hills last May. About 50 treasure hunters gathered to see what they could find in a field. 

Richard said: "It was my first time in Shropshire, but I didn’t realise the journey time. I never find anything in Somerset - they must have had good pockets or all been poor."

Things didn’t get off to a good start though. His first two detectors didn’t work but thankfully the last one played ball, and within a few minutes he found a 64g gold nugget.

Richard said: “Everyone was finding stuff but my detectors weren’t working. Within a couple of minutes I found an old brothel token and then a couple of minutes later - the gold nugget.

“I asked one of the organisers to confirm it because I wasn’t too sure. I’ve never found anything like this before even though I’ve been detecting since 1989.

“Before you knew it, everyone was gathered around me passing it round.”

Despite the find, Richard actually said it "ruined" his day. 

He said: “They all went cock-a-hoop. I couldn’t concentrate after that. I was in disbelief.

"I’ve never heard of many people finding golden nuggets, not in this country anyway. So I gave up and went home.”

Over the years Richard has found plenty of Roman coins, but never gold. 

Since then the coin has been going through the auction system, and is now for sale at the Mullock Jones Auctioneers in Shropshire. 

The auction finishes on 1 April. The money will be split between Richard and the landowner.