A metal detectorist has revealed he managed to find the largest Roman coin hoard in the north of England because he was craving a bacon sandwich.

David Blakey, 57, from Hartlepool, spent years searching for a significant haul of treasure in fields up and down the country.

But it was only when he was about to give in and go for lunch during an early morning session in Wold Newton, East Yorkshire, he found the hoard of a lifetime in 2014.

A metal detector enthusiast in Yorkshire has uncovered the largest haul of Roman coins in the North of England, valued at thousands of pounds

VALUABLE ROMAN FIND The haul of coins was unearthed in 2014 in East Yorkshire, but experts have valued them at more than £44,000 ($58,000). Experts believe the coins date back to the time of Constantine the Great, who is resided in York during the 3rd Century. The coins are on display at the Yorkshire Museum until October, but the staff are hoping to raise the funds to keep the collection there permanently. Advertisement

A tired and hungry Mr Blakely was on his way back to his van for a bacon sandwich when his metal detector suddenly alerted him to what was a vast haul of Roman coins.

'It is a find of a life-time and without my grumbling stomach that morning I may never have found it,' said Mr Blakely.

'It had been an early start and up to that point no-one had found anything. I was getting hungry and my ankle was beginning to hurt so I decided to make a beeline back to my van.

'If I hadn't, I may never have walked over that exact spot and this amazing discovery could still be buried deep underground.

'It is fantastic to find something so significant, I did a little dance when I realised just what it was, I am really proud to have found it.'

David Blakey, 57, from Hartlepool (pictured) spent years searching for a significant haul of treasure in fields up and down the country until he came across the haul

The Wold Newton Hoard contains 1,857 Roman and dates to 307 CE, a period of great uncertainty in the Roman Empire and Yorkshire.

It features coins depicting Constantius and also the first coins to proclaim his son, Constantine, Augustus after he was made emperor in York.

His discovery has been valued at £44,200 ($58,000) and the Yorkshire Museum in York now has until October to raise the funds to make sure it stays in Yorkshire on public display.

Experts believe the coins date back to the reign of Constantine the great, who resided in York in the 3rd Century. The haul is believed to have been the equivalent of a Roman soldier's annual pay

Mr Blakey unearthed the haul of coins in Wold Newton, East Yorkshire (labelled on map), not far from York - the Roman capital of Britain

At the time of burial the hoard was worth the equivalent of a legionary's annual salary, three year's salary for a carpenter or six years for a farm labourer.

It could buy 700 chickens, 2,000 of the finest fish or 11,000 pints of beer.

Andrew Woods, curator of numismatics at the Yorkshire Museum, said: 'This is an absolutely stunning find with a strong connection to one of the most significant periods in York's Roman history.

Mr Blakey was about to give in and go for lunch during an early morning session in East Yorkshire when he came across the hoard of a lifetime in 2014

'No hoard of this size from this period has ever been discovered in the north of England before.

'It contains coins from the time of Constantius who died in the city and then the first to feature Constantine, rising to power.

'This was a pivotal moment in York's history but also the history of the western world. It was also a time of great uncertainty in the empire, as different Roman powers looked to challenge Constantine's claim as emperor.

The discovery has been valued at £44,200 and the Yorkshire Museum in York now has until October to raise the funds to make sure it stays in Yorkshire on public display

WHO WAS CONSTANTINE THE GREAT? Pictured is a statue of Constantine which stands in York today Named Augustus in 306 CE in Eboracum (York) following the death of his father, Constantine was far reaching in his achievements, with historians awarding him the moniker of Constantine the Great. His reign marked a change in the Roman Empire, reigning intermittently from 306 to 337CE. As Augustus, he enacted huge change during his reign, including the minting of new coins to battle inflation. Among his achievements was establishing the ‘New Rome’ in the city of Byzantium, which was renamed to Constantinople. Constantine united warring sections of the empire, joining the east and west by 324CE. Advertisement

Andrew Woods, curator of numismatics at the Yorkshire Museum, has said the museum hopes to keep the collection in Yorkshire permanently, but must raise the necessary funds

'We hope to now save the hoard to make sure it stays in Yorkshire for the public to enjoy but also so we can learn more about this fascinating period as well as why it was buried and to whom it might have belonged.'

A major part of the hoard along with the ceramic vessel is on public display at the Yorkshire Museum from 16 July to 9 October.

The museum has until October to raise the £44,200 needed to keep the hoard in public collections.