AN 800-year-old brooch found in south Gloucestershire has been declared as treasure by a senior coroner.

The 13th century silver annular brooch with garnet stones was unearthed at a secret location on October 7 last year, Gloucestershire Coroner's Court was told.

A Mr Chandler, of Ross-on-Wye, discovered it while out with his metal detector. The “zoomorphic” [animal shaped] find was acknowledged by the British Museum on December 15 last year and has been dated to the 13th century.

The inquest took place on February 14. Senior coroner for Gloucestershire Katy Skerrett, said: “It qualifies as treasures in terms of its age and its metal content.

"It measures seventeen and a half millimetres long, by 14 millimetres wide, by 2.9 millimetres thick and is complete with its pin.”