River of gold! Record nugget haul
THE biggest gold nugget in Britain has been unearthed by a treasure hunter lying face-down in a river.
The 22-carat giant, worth up to £80,000, was found using a method known as “sniping” in which prospectors wear a dry suit and snorkel to search in shallow water.
It came to light in a river in Scotland last May but the exact location and the identity of the finder have both been kept secret.
The nugget weighs a total of 121.3g, or just over 4oz, although it was found in two separate pieces.
The parts, which weigh 89.6g and 31.7g, fit together so perfectly round a central hole that the doughnut-shaped lump has been dubbed the Reunion Nugget.
The pieces may have been split by a glacier, though one expert has speculated the hole was caused by a blow from an Iron Age farmer’s antler pick some 2,500 years ago.
Writer Lee Palmer was approached by the finder while researching his book Gold Occurrences In The UK.
Lee, 50, said: “It really is a remarkable find. Even if you took just the bigger piece on its own, it would still be the UK’s largest.”
The previous record was an 85.7g (3oz) whopper known as the Douglas Nugget, which was also found in a Scottish river in 2016.
A HUSBAND tried to force his estranged wife to swallow her wedding ring before beating her to death, a court heard yesterday.
Shaun Dyson, 28, killed Lucy-Anne Rushton, 30, in the early hours by repeatedly stamping on her, a jury was told.
The pair married in 2010 having eloped to Gretna Green in the Borders. But their “toxic” relationship degenerated to the point where Ms Rushton told her family she feared Dyson would murder her and they separated.
Then on June 23 Dyson flew into a jealous rage at their previously shared home in Andover, Hants.
Simon Jones, prosecuting, told Winchester Crown Court: “Lucy was the victim of a prolonged and very severe beating, culminating in repeated stamping or jumping or both on her chest and while she was laid on her back.There was no justification
Writer Lee, left, was approached by nugget’s finder as he researched a book. Top, the pieces fit perfectly round hole for blow after blow, kick after kick, stamp after stamp.”
He said that on the night Lucy died Dyson had become “enraged” by a phone call she received from another man she had been in a relationship with.
Mr Jones said that a witness in the house, who cannot be named, had seen the defendant say to Ms Rushton: “Swallow the ring because we are not together any more.”
The witness said Ms Rushton put the ring in her mouth she did not swallow it because it was found on the stairs later.
Mr Jones said the witness had woken up to see Dyson hitting Ms Rushton, saying she had a “sad voice” while the defendant was in a “mean mood”.
Dyson denies continues. murder.
The trial