A metal detectorist who found a rare gold Bronze Age ring when he was illegally searching private land has been found guilty of theft after he contacted a museum about his find.

Ricky Smith, 34, discovered the Penannular ring - a gold ring with a small section missing - on a Surrey bridle path two years ago.

But the detectorist of 11 years, who was "in it for the money", failed to report his find of "treasure" to the coroner within two weeks as required by law. Instead, he touted the ring - worth between £500 and £600 - to a local museum, the court was told.

Nationally, around six Penannular rings dating from the Late Bronze Age period of between 1150 to 750 BC are found each year.

But this is only the fourth gold Bronze Age item found in Surrey, meaning that it is of particular importance to the county.