Three gold-diggers find treasure on Folkestone beach

Megan and Kirsty Henderson and Kevin Wood found the gold on Friday evening

Three people have become the first confirmed to find 24-carat gold treasure buried on a beach in Kent.

Kevin Wood, his partner Kirsty Henderson and her sister Megan found a £500 gold bar in Folkestone after digging for an hour at low tide.

German artist Michael Sailstorfer buried £10,000 worth of bullion as part of Folkestone Triennial arts festival.

The trio travelled from their home in Canterbury to join the gold rush on Friday.

Describing the moment he struck the precious metal, Mr Wood, 28, said: "My legs went from under me and I started shaking.

"I put it quietly in my pocket. We left the beach and half-way home, we pulled over for a drink."

The Folkestone Digs project is part of the town's arts festival which has included work by artists including Tracey Emin, Jeremy Deller and Martin Creed in previous years.

Artists including Yoko Ono are taking part in this year's festival which runs until November 2.

Mr Wood said the couple first thought they might sell the gold straight away and go on holiday to Paris.

"Now we're thinking we might keep hold of it because of all the interest," he said.

"We are not going to rush into anything."

Curator Lewis Biggs said the beach had been full since it was announced on Thursday the gold had been buried.

Gold bars worth £10,000 were buried on Folkestone beach as part of an arts festival

"There are always people digging on the beach but there's a lot more digging on the beach now," he said.

"When it's at high tide there are maybe 50 people, when it's low tide maybe 1,000.

"There are a lot of people coming and going of all ages - families, dedicated people with metal detectors, people with lights on their heads all night.

"It's been fun down there."

It is not known how many other people may have found the gold bars.

"What you find is yours and you can tell other people or not," said Mr Biggs.

"You can stick it in your sock and take it home so we will never know if they have all been found or not."

Up to 1,000 people at a time have been digging for gold on Folkestone beach since Thursday