A metal detectorist who went on the run after he stole a Viking treasure hoard worth £3million has admitted stabbing his friend following an argument over the stolen gold.
George Powell had been avoiding police for nine months when he attacked Lewis Prosser at a caravan site in Paignton, Devon, in October 2025.
The attack left Mr Prosser with a bleed on the brain, a fractured jaw and ankle, and he now has ‘four or five’ epileptic seizures a day, Exeter Crown Court heard.
Today Powell, from Newport in South Wales, was jailed for 20 month for the stabbing.
The 45-year-old and his fellow detectorist Layton Davies failed to declare they had unearthed 300 Viking coins and other jewellery in 2015. The hoard of ancient valuables was one of the biggest treasure finds in the history of the UK.
Instead of reporting the stash, the duo tried to cash in on their haul by selling the ancient items on the black market.
In 2019 Powell was handed a 10 year prison sentence for his part in the theft but by January 2025 he was released on licence and was due to be sentenced for a separate charge of not paying his share of the Herefordshire hoard value.
After failing to turn up to the sentencing in Birmingham he went on the run.
George Powell (pictured in 2019) has been jailed for 20 months after he stabbed Lewis Prosser at a caravan site in Paignton, Devon, in October 2025
Historians believe the coins were of Anglo-Saxon origin and had been hidden by a Viking
Powell eventually ended up staying at a caravan site with Mr Prosser in October last year.
The pair had been drinking before they started arguing in the early hours of October 18 after Mr Prosser accused Powell of stealing gold and jewellery from him.
Michael Brown, for the prosecution, told the court Mr Prosser woke up to find Powell ‘repeatedly striking him with a knife and a truncheon baton’.
Mr Prosser fled to get help from another caravan and the emergency services were called to the scene. He was then rushed to hospital where he remained for 10 days.
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.
Powell later appeared at Plymouth Magistrates Court on October 23 last year where he was jailed for five years and three months for failing to repay the money.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, seen by the BBC, Mr 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.’
In 2019 Powell was handed a 10 year prison sentence for his part in the theft but by January 2025 he was released on licence for the theft and had been due to be sentenced for a separate charge when he went on the run
Pictured: Some of the recovered hoard. More than 230 of the coins have still not been found
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.
He was also given a restraining order to prevent him from contacting Mr 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 and Davies unearthed the hoard near farmland in Eye, near Leominster, Herefordshire, around ten years ago.
It included a ninth-century gold ring, a dragon’s head bracelet, a silver ingot, a fifth crystal rock pendant and up to 300 coins, some from the reign of King Alfred.
By law, the men should have reported the discovery but instead decided to sell the items in small batches to various customers on the black market.
Pictured: Powell (left) with his fellow detectorist Layton Davies (right). Instead of reporting the the ancient valuables when they found them, the duo tried to cash in on their haul by selling the ancient items on the black market
Powell also only handed over three coins he found to the owner of the land which were ‘not particularly valuable’.
More than 230 of the coins have still not been found.
Historians believe the coins were of Anglo-Saxon origin and had been hidden by a Viking.
One of them was a double-headed coin, showing two rulers of England – Alfred the Great, who ruled Wessex, and Ceolwulf II of Mercia.
Experts said this showed there was an alliance previously not thought to exist between the kings, changing what we know about the unification of England.
The hoard is set to go on permanent display at Hereford Museum which raised £776,250 to buy it.
