Hoard thief stabbed friend after stolen gold row

A metal detectorist convicted of stealing part of a £3m Viking hoard has admitted stabbing his friend after an argument about stolen gold.

George Powell, 45, had been on the run from police when he attacked Lewis Prosser at a caravan site in Paignton, Devon, in October 2025.

Prosser suffered a bleed on the brain, a fractured jaw and ankle, and now has epilepsy, a court heard. Powell was given 20 months in prison for the attack.

Powell, from Newport in South Wales, had been jailed in 2019 for his part in stealing 300 Viking coins and gold jewellery he found in a field in Herefordshire in 2015. The hoard was one of the biggest treasure finds in the history of the British Isles, worth £3m.

He had been given ten years for theft and concealing the find.

Powell was on the run from the police in 2025 when Prosser invited him to stay in his caravan in Paignton, Exeter Crown Court heard.

He had been released on licence for the theft but had been due to be sentenced for a separate charge of not paying his share of the Herefordshire hoard value. In January 2025, he failed to turn up for that sentencing in Birmingham and had been on the run.

The pair spent time drinking before arguing in the early hours of October 18, with Prosser accusing Powell of stealing gold and jewellery from him.

Michael Brown, for the prosecution, told the court Prosser "woke to find Powell repeatedly striking him with a knife and a truncheon baton."

"Mr Prosser fled to another caravan to get help and the on-site security, police and ambulance service were called.

"He spent 10 days in hospital being treated for his injuries."

The court heard how some jewellery and gold was later found elsewhere on the site, but police said it was not believed to be related to the hoard.

In a victim-impact statement read to the court, Prosser said his injuries had been devastating.

"I have four or five seizures a day and I have made multiple attempts to take my life," he said.

"I have been admitted to a psychiatric ward and I am reliant on my family to take care of me."

The court heard how Powell claimed he was acting in self-defence and he has been responding positively during his time in prison.

Judge Stephen Climie sentenced Powell to 20 months in prison which will be added to his current sentence of five years and three month for failing to repay the money. He was given a restraining order to prevent him from contacting Prosser for 10 years.

"This was a brutal attack on someone you knew," the judge said.

"Whatever the nature and cause of the disagreement, that does not result in any finding of self-defence."

Powell, along with Layton Davies, uncovered the Viking coins in a field near Leominster.

The huge collection of jewellery was one of the biggest treasure finds in British history.

If they had followed the law, and declared the treasure they would have become very wealthy men, but instead they sold it to dealers.

The items, which included a gold ring, a bracelet with a dragon's head clasp, and a collection of coins, had been buried by Vikings in the 9th Century and hidden for 1,100 years.

More than 230 of the coins have still not been found.

Davies, from Pontypridd, was ordered to serve an extra five years and three months in prison for failing to pay his share of the money.