AN 800-YEAR-OLD silver brooch found in Gloucestershire by a Ross on Wye man with a metal detector was declared treasure by a coroner today.

The medieval silver annular brooch with garnet stones was unearthed at a secret location in the south of Gloucestershire on October 7 last year, Gloucestershire Coroner's Court was told.

The find was acknowledged by the British Museum on December 15 last year and has been dated as between medieval times and the 13th century.

Said the senior coroner for Gloucestershire Katy Skerrett: "It measures seventeen and a half millimetres long, by 14 millimetres wide, by 2.9 millimetres thick and is complete with its pin.

"I am satisfied that the find meets the requirements of the Treasure Act of 1996 and my verdict is therefore that this brooch is indeed treasure."

Having been designated treasure the brooch will now be valued by British Museum experts and offered for sale to a local museum. The finder, named only as Mr Walker from Ross, and the landowner will each receive half its market value.