A METAL detecting raider has today been fined after stealing three Roman coins from a site of crucial archaeological importance.

Dave Gooderham

A METAL detecting raider has today been fined after stealing three Roman coins from a site of crucial archaeological importance.

Unemployed Norfolk man, Andrew Chamberlain, pleaded guilty to theft after he was caught by police on land in Icklingham, near Mildenhall.

Magistrates at Bury St Edmunds heard that Chamberlain, 25, of Front Way, King's Lynn, was metal detecting on the site at about 4.30am on April 5.

He was initially seen by landowner John Browning - who had previously admitted carrying regular nocturnal patrols on the valued site - and then caught by police as he returned to his van.

The value of the ancient coins, which were handed over to the police, was said to be purely “historical”.

The court was told that Chamberlain, who had no previous convictions, was unaware that the former Roman settlement in the Suffolk village was now a scheduled monument site of archaeological interest. He was said to have a strong interest in history, particularly medieval Roman times.

Chamberlain was fined �60, ordered to pay costs of �60 and a victim surcharge of �15.