TWO brothers who uncovered a treasure trove of precious artefacts buried on a riverbed have spoken of their chance discovery.

Gary and Trevor Bankhead spent 15 years diving at exotic locations all around the world before a coffee shop chat led them to explore the River Wear, in Durham.

Over two years, they recovered a haul of items belonging to former Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey, including gifts from Pope Paul VI and other religious leaders, and a commemorative medallion presented to the bishop for the Queen’s coronation in 1952.

Some of the objects could be worth up to £10,000.

Yesterday, Gary Bankhead, 44, said: “My wife, Angela, came up with the idea of me diving in the River Wear.

“I was having a coffee at Framwellgate, overlooking the river. She pointed at the river and said: ‘Why don’t you dive there?’ “I thought ‘why not?’ and that’s how it started.”

The brothers’ first find, in 2007, was a silver trowel presented to the archbishop for laying the foundation stone of an Indian church in 1961.

“It was really by chance that we found the first find on our first dive. The trowel was on the surface,” Mr Bankhead added.

Mr Ramsey, a former Bishop of Durham, returned to live in the city after retiring as archbishop in 1974. He died in 1988.

The brothers believe he threw the items into the river as a gift to the people.

However, a Durham Cathedral spokeswoman said: “There has been speculation for some time that the archbishop was victim of a burglary and this would seem to confirm it.”

The value of the items is to be split between the brothers and the cathedral. It is hoped some will go on display in Durham Cathedral next year, when a new window dedicated to Mr Ramsey is installed.

The brothers found more than 300 artefacts, also including Roman, Saxon and medieval items.

Mr Bankhead said: “The dives were two hours at a time and it was murky down there.

“Me and Trevor had some frights and scares. Our hands were cut to shreds by the glass. It was so cold we came close to getting hypothermia.

“But the thrill of finding the items made it worth it. It was a great buzz and every time we found something, it was better than the last object we’d found.”