'It's been more fun than winning the lottery...'

THE man who discovered an Anglo-Saxon hoard with his metal detector said he dug up so much gold he was seeing the precious metal in his sleep afterwards.

Terry Herbert, from Burntwood, Staffordshire, pictured above, unearthed his find on the afternoon of July 5 this year.

The 55-year-old spent the next five days scouring a stretch of Staffordshire farmland and digging up pieces of an archaeological puzzle already sparking debate among experts.

He said: "Imagine you're at home and somebody keeps putting money through your letterbox, that was what it was like.

"I was going to bed and in my sleep I was seeing gold items.

"I just kept thinking of what I might find the next day."

Mr Herbert bought his first metal detector 18 years ago from a car boot sale for just £2.50.

His hobby is now set to bring him a substantial return, after he discovered the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found.

Once a valuation and sale have been completed, the market value of the find will be split equally between Mr Herbert and the owner of the farmland where it was discovered.

Mr Herbert, who is unemployed and plans to buy a bungalow, said: "It's been more fun than winning the lottery.

"People laugh at metal detectors. I've had people go past and go 'beep beep, he's after pennies'.

"Well no, we are out there to find this kind of stuff and it is out there."