A metal detector enthusiast who claimed to have discovered hoards of valuable antiquities during years of treasure hunting has been convicted of selling modern fakes.

David Hutchings, known to fellow users as “Coldfeet”, was renowned for finding rare items. But his reputation lies in tatters after he pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud and was jailed for six months.

Hutchings, 43, was the organiser of the Coventry Moles metal detecting club, which held archaeological searches across the Midlands. He used legitimate digs to “discover” fake items before passing them off as genuine antiquities. Some buyers were told that the items had been verified at the British Museum.

Scotland Yard’s Art and Antiques Unit raided his home in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, after an Essex-based dealer raised concerns about a set of coins Hutchings was trying to sell.

During the searches they discovered a number of real coins that are believed to have been used as a base for test striking during the manufacture of some of the fake items.

Warwick Crown Court was told last week that Hutchings had tried to sell the Essex dealer £2,000 worth of coins that he said dated from the 1st to the 8th century. He had already sold similar coins to two other dealers for a total of £1,400.

Experts from the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, assessed the coins and concluded that all had either been manufactured by casting in a mould or struck using forged dies.

When questioned by police, Hutchings, who was unemployed, claimed that he had bought the coins from two dealers, “Gary and Steve”, believing they were genuine. Hutchings — who used other names including David Chester and Roy Chestert — said that he did not know where the dealers were.

Hutchings has been the subject of speculation among metal-detecting enthusiasts. Despite many dramatic finds over the years, there had been growing suspicion about his claims to have discovered antiquities many miles from where they would normally be found.

There were also rumours that he had been involved in “nighthawking”, illegally looting protected historical sites.

Roy Blunt, a verifier for the UK Detector Finds Database said that Hutchings had recorded about 80 finds in recent years.

“He is a strange character,” he said. “There was a general view that the find-spots he recorded were not reliable. He seemed to find items where you would not normally expect to see them.”

Mr Blunt said he had first raised concern about Hutchings when he recorded an Anglo Saxon Shilling which he claimed to have found in Warwickshire in July 2007. Two experts later contacted him challenging its legitimacy.

Another metal detector user said last night: “Coldfeet was known as a bit of a rogue. We are pleased he has been jailed — we don’t need people like him damaging the reputation of detectoring.”

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