AN axe head which could have been used at the Battle of Evesham in August 1265 is to go on display at the town's Almonry Museum and Heritage Centre.

It is the only artefact from the battle in which Simon de Montfort was killed that the Vale of Evesham Historical Society has, and Helen Heath, who bought it on behalf of the society, said: "We are all very excited about it."

She was browsing through an antiquarian auction catalogue when she spotted the axe head and subsequently bought it at the sale.

Mrs Heath said: "The axe head was found in the mud on the banks of the River Avon near Offenham in 1987 by a man walking his dog.

"He left it to his daughter who in turn sold it on to a dealer who put it in the auction."

She said: "The axe head is in very good condition and the blade is still reasonably sharp. It has been verified as being of that period and from where it was found it could possibly have been used in the Battle of Evesham."

Mrs Heath said society chairman David Snowden described it was a typical example of an axe as used by the Welsh, and there were Welsh foot soldiers at the Battle.

After a small amount of preservation work, the axe head will go on display in the Simon de Montfort Room at the Almonry, and Mrs Heath said they might put a new 3ft wooden handle on to show just how it would have looked at the time.