A BRONZE Roman helmet found by a North-East metal detector enthusiast has shattered all expectations by raising more than £2m at auction today.

A man in his 20s from Peterlee. County Durham, stumbled across the helmet in a Cumbrian farm field in May.

The cavalry parade helmet had been expected to fetch up to £300,000 at an international auction at Christies in London today.

But when bidding stopped, the final sum stood at an amazing £2,281,250. It is not known who the buyer is.

The helmet - made in the late 1st or 2nd Century AD -is one of only three that have been discovered in Britain complete with face-masks. The others were found in 1796 and 1905.