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A metal detectorist who stole about \u00a33m worth of Viking treasure has been sentenced to a further five years and three months in prison after failing to pay back more than \u00a3600,000.<\/p>\n
Layton Davies, formerly of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was jailed in 2019 for concealing the finding of the treasure and theft after he sold rare Viking and Anglo-Saxon coins and jewellery along with an accomplice.<\/p>\n
The 56-year-old was ordered to repay the \u00a3603,180 he made from selling the stolen treasures.<\/p>\n
Experts believed the items he found provided fresh information on previously unknown alliances between the ancient kings of Mercia and Wessex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
His accomplice’s request to appeal his sentence was refused, and Davies failed to pay back the money he owed.<\/p>\n
Debbie Price, deputy chief prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service\u2019s proceeds of crime division, said: \u201cGreed led Layton Davies to ignore his duty to report the found treasure and instead sell it for his own benefit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn experienced detectorist, Davies would have known he was entitled to half of the proceeds of legal sale of the treasure, instead choosing to deprive the landowner and public by stealing this exceptional and significant treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between 2018 to 2023, more than \u00a3480m has been recovered from CPS-obtained confiscation orders, with \u00a3105m returned to victims of crime.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n