HISTORICAL finds unearthed in Bidford are likely to remain in the county.

This was the view of Warwickshire coroner Michael Coker, when an inquest on two artefacts discovered by a Studley man was opened at Leamington Town Hall last Friday (July 12).

Robert Laight, from Toms Town Lane, found an Anglo-Saxon gold and garnet fitting and Bronze Age 'ring money' in two separate incidents while metal detecting in Bidford in September 2000 and July 2001.

Mr Coker read out reports from the British Museum in London, which said that the Anglo-Saxon piece was jewellery was believed to have dated back to the latter part of the 7th Century.

He then said that the origin of the ring money could go back as far as 1150BC, and was the second of its kind to be found in Bidford.

Warwickshire Museum's Keeper of Archaeology, Sara Wear said: "Ring money was a regular component of the late Bronze Age. It was distributed in Britain and Ireland and its age and its make-up constituted that the finds were treasure-trove."

Mr Coker said he could confirm that the pieces were treasure and thanked Mr Laight for reporting his finds, adding that it was an "important duty" for detectors to report their discoveries.

The treasure will now be sent to the British Museum where valuations will be determined. Officials will then decide where the artefacts are to be housed, although Mr Coker said it was likely the pieces would be returned to the Warwickshire Museum.