AFTER digging up nothing more than several tin cans, a metal-detecting enthusiast was about to pack it in for the day when he struck gold.

Charles Kenyon of Lancaster was hunting through fields in Garstang when he stumbled across a silver medieval brooch which could fetch a fortune.

But the history enthusiast says he does not care about the cash.

He is just ecstatic' that he has been able to contribute to local history.

"I found it in the Garstang area in a field that I had detected on a few times before," Mr Kenyon told the Citizen.

"I got permission off the farmer to search the site and had been there most of the day with my wife and had not found anything exciting just a couple of cans.

"It was cold and wet and we were close to calling it a day when I made the find. I couldn't believe it when I saw the brooch staring up at me."

"It came out in a clump of soil and was not at all tarnished I felt absolutely brilliant," says Mr Kenyon.

The brooch has been officially termed treasure' under the Treasure Act 1996.

Charles has been a member of the Lune Valley Metal Detecting club for four-and-a-half years and says he knew the brooch was a treasure as soon as he clapped his eyes on it.