‘An emblem of the period’

PROSECUTOR KEVIN Hegarty QC said an expert valuation of the hoard found it could be worth between £3m and £12m.

He said a find of “immense archaeological, historical and academic value” had been lost to the nation.

He added:: “The Leominster Hoard represents a nationally important assemblage created at the very point England was forming and becoming a nation with a single identity under the vision of Alfred the Great.”

He said it was “emblematic of a period where English identity was being formed”.

The court heard there will be a Proceeds of Crime hearing in the new year.