A massive hoard of Celtic coins worth millions of pounds has been found on Jersey. The collection comprises 30,000 to 50,000 coins and is thought to have been buried to hide it from the advancing armies of Julius Caesar.

The coins were discovered in a field in the parish of Grouville in the east of the island by Reg Mead and Richard Miles, local metal detector enthusiasts.

Mr Mead had been investigating the field for 30 years since he heard a report that coins were found scattered on the ground after a tree was uprooted.

The coins are thought to be worth between £100 and £200 each, giving a potential value of £3m to £10m. Jersey Heritage said the coins weighed about three-quarters of a tonne and were of Armorican origin (Brittany and Normandy) from a tribe called the Coriosolitae, who were based around Rance in the area of modern-day St Malo and Dinan.