More than 1,000 at 'Glastonbury of metal detecting'

More than 1,000 people descended on dozens of fields between Bath and Chippenham over the weekend for "the Glastonbury festival for metal detecting."

The Rodney Cook Memorial Rally is run by Gary Cook, in memory of his father, who died from cancer in 2017, and is expected to raise around £100,000 for charity.

People came from all over the world for the event, which mostly supports hospital and cancer charities.

Mr Cook explained it started when "I wanted to try and help the hospital that helped us".

Detectorists were scattered across dozens of huge fields.

"The hospital have told us that people are alive today because of the money we have raised," he added.

Simon Thexton from the RUHX charity said the money had helped to buy the first surgical robot at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

"It's the first time I've been to the rally. As I drove in I thought I was coming into a medium-sized music festival! It's a lot bigger than I expected and really impressive," he explained.

Steve Novakovich from Garrett Metal Detectors was there and had come all the way from Texas, US.

He said: "There are a lot of events like this around the world, but none that I know of that has this goal to raise money for cancer research."

Steve Novakovich came all the way from Texas to take part

The detectorists found items from many different periods over the weekend including coins, Roman brooches, a bronze age artefact as well as a small gold piece that will be assessed to see if it can be classed as treasure.

One participant, Lynne Hope, explained she enjoyed the hobby because "a lot of it is the peace and quiet - you get into a sort of zone, it's quite therapeutic."

Mr Cook who has also organised a mini weekend for the autumn said: "My father was a wonderful chap, a lovely guy. He wasn't just my dad, he was my best friend."