Artefacts looted by treasure hunter returned

Almost 900 artefacts illegally looted by a treasure hunter with a metal detector have been recovered, it emerged last night.

The collection was illegally amassed by a British man living in Co Tipperary who worked with an associate in Norfolk, England, to pass the goods on. The treasure hunter died in May 2012.

The pieces, including a Bronze Age axe and hundreds of medieval coins, will go on display today before being stored for research.