A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a metal detectorist convicted of stealing a £3million Viking hoard of gold after he failed to appear in court.
George Powell was part of a duo who failed to declare they had unearthed invaluable coins and other jewellery dating back 1,100 years that ‘rewrote history’.
He and fellow detectorist Layton Davies tried to cash in on their haul by selling the ancient items on the black market following the find in 2015.
Earlier this month Powell, who was jailed for six-and-a-half years for the theft, had been due to appear in court for failing to repay £600,000.
But a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear for his sentencing hearing at Birmingham Magistrates Court on January 8.
Davies is currently serving an extra five years and three months in jail for failing to pay the value of his share of the missing treasure.
The pair unearthed the hoard near farmland in Eye, near Leominster, Herefordshire, around ten years ago.
It included a ninth-century gold ring, a dragon’s head bracelet, a silver ingot, a fifth crystal rock pendant and up to 300 coins, some from the reign of King Alfred.
The police have issued an arrest warrant for treasure thief George Powell (pictured here in 2019) after he failed to appear in court
Powell (left) had been due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court for failing to repay £600,000. Fellow detectorist Layton Davies (right) and corrupt antiques dealer Simon Wicks (centre) were also convicted of conspiring to conceal the treasure (pictured here in 2019)
Only 31 of the coins – worth between £10,000 and £50,000 – and pieces of jewellery discovered at farmland in Eye, near Leominster, Herefordshire, have ever been recovered, with the majority of the hoard still missing
By law, the men should have reported the discovery but instead decided to sell the items in small batches to various customers on the black market.
Powell also only handed over three coins he found to the owner of the land which were ‘not particularly valuable’.
Only 31 of the coins – worth between £10,000 and £50,000 – and pieces of jewellery have ever been recovered, with the majority of the hoard still missing.
Powell and Davies, along with coin sellers Paul Wells and Simon Wicks were convicted of conspiring to conceal the treasure in 2019.
Sentencing at the time, Judge Nicholas Cartwright said they had ‘cheated the public’ by concealing the treasure which ‘belonged to the nation.’
He said: ‘You acted in a way which was greedy and selfish.
‘You clumsily dug out everything you could find and put the soil back and left without speaking to the farmer, the farmer’s mother or anybody else.
‘If you had obtained the permissions and agreements responsible metal detectorists are advised to obtain and had gone on to act within the law, you could have expected to have had a half share or third share of £3 million to share between the two of you.
Historians believe the coins were of Anglo-Saxon origin and had been hidden by a Viking
The treasure thieves tried to flog items in small batches to various customers on the black market instead of reporting the discovery
The pair discovered a silver ingot within the ancient treasure hoard
‘You could not have done worse than £500,000 each, but you wanted more.’
Powell, from from Newport, Wales, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, later reduced to six and a half years on appeal.
Davies, from of Pontypridd, Wales, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, later reduced to five years on appeal.
Historians believe the coins were of Anglo-Saxon origin and had been hidden by a Viking.
One of them was a double-headed coin, showing two rulers of England – Alfred the Great, who ruled Wessex, and Ceolwulf II of Mercia.
Experts said this showed there was an alliance previously not thought to exist between the kings, changing what we know about the unification of England.
The hoard is set to go on permanent display at Hereford Museum which raised £776,250 to buy it.
