A SILVER Anglo-Saxon sword scabbard decoration found near Winchester has been declared "treasure trove''.

Jeremy de Montfalcon, found the item in a field near Itchen Abbas, using a metal detector, in November last year.

Winchester Museum is looking to buy the item once the British Museum has named a price.

Mr de Montfalcon said he will split the money with the owner of the field, whose name has not been disclosed.

Central Hampshire coroner, Grahame Short heard that Mr de Montfalcon often uses his metal detector at the field where he found the silver pyramidal strap mount.

Mr de Montfalcon said: "It was my intention to look for any metal, but I was very shocked when I realised what I had found. Anglo Saxon pyramidal mounts are very rare.

"After I discovered it I didn't stay in the field much longer. I did not clean the mount, I left that for the experts to do."

A report from the British Museum said the mount dated back to either the sixth or seventh centuries and the silver content of the item was 94 per cent and it weighed 2.81 grams.

Finds liaison officer for Winchester Museums Service, Jodi McCrohan said Mr de Montfalcon, of Hulse Road, Southampton, did the right thing by not cleaning the mount as he could have inadvertently damaged it.

After hearing the evidence, Mr Short recorded the mount as treasure.