A GROUP of amateur treasure hunters was celebrating last night after two hoardes of Roman coins they stumbled upon fetched more than £16,000 at auction.

More than 1,800 coins and an earthenware pot that contained one of the hoards were sold for a total of £16,502 at the New Connaught Rooms, in London.

The coins were discovered by enthusiasts Stephen Best, Jimmy Haley and Paul Rennoldson, of Consett, County Durham, in September 2000.

They were found in two pots, which had been buried approximately 15ft apart on farmland in Langtoft, East Yorkshire.

Pierce Noonan, director of auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb, said the sale had attracted buyers from all over the world and that many bids were taken over the telephone.

The highest bid was £410 for a single rare coin which dates back to the reign of the emperor Maximianus, between AD286 and AD305.

The hoards, which are believed to have been deposited around AD305 and AD325, were declared treasure at an inquest at Hull Coroner's Court.

Mr Best, who described the discovery as "a day we will never forget", said the trio would split the proceeds of the sale with the owner of the land on which the hoards were found.

"If anyone had said we would ever be involved in finding one hoard, never mind two, we would have said that it would have been easier to win the lottery - but that's exactly what happened," he said.

"Jimmy swears that there was some divine intervention taking place on that day.

"His first find, after some time detecting, was a ring pull which he threw away in disgust, exclaiming, 'God, what have I got to do to find something decent?' His very next signal, one minute later, was the first Roman coin, and the rest is history."

An archaeological team from the Yorkshire Museum, in York, was sent to photograph the site and excavate the pots.