Judge rejects Viking hoard thief's appeal bid

George Powell did not attend his appeal hearing

A man found guilty of stealing a Viking hoard of gold worth £3m has been told he has no right to appeal against part of his sentence.

Metal detectorist George Powell, of Newport, is serving six-and-a-half years in prison, and his friend Layton Davies, of Pontypridd, eight-and-a-half, after being convicted of theft and concealing their find.

Instead of declaring their discovery of jewellery and coins in a Herefordshire field in 2015 as required by law, they sold the valuables to dealers.

In 2022, the men were also made subject of a confiscation order and told to repay £600,000 or spend five more years in jail but on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal in London ruled against Powell's request to appeal against the order.

The crown court judge who implemented the order two years ago said the men had "stolen the nation’s history".

He told Powell and fellow detectorist Davies he believed they were "deliberately hiding" 270 coins linked to the hoard.

After previously requesting judges to consider his right to appeal, Powell failed to attend the hearing.

Appeal judge Mr Justice Wall said the court had found the original judge’s findings to be fair, well-reasoned, logical and founded on evidence.

He added no errors in the 2022 ruling had been made.