Four men sentenced for metal detecting over an ancient monument
Date of alert:
Monday, 3 July 2023
Crime Ref:
Force:
Suffolk Constabulary
Four men who were arrested after being found at a scheduled ancient monument with metal detecting equipment in October last year have been given a suspended sentence after appearing at Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 28 June.
The four men, all from Norfolk, were discovered and arrested at the site in Mid Suffolk which is protected. Metal detecting on sites scheduled as ancient monuments is illegal without permission from the secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport.
The men were spotted by an officer using a thermal imaging camera on Wednesday 12 October last year and subsequently arrested on suspicion of using a metal detector on a site scheduled as an ancient monument, contrary to Section 42 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act.
The group was also found in possession of items suspected to have been from the site.
Bradley Ling, 24, of Pond Lane, Surlingham, Kyle Mickleburgh, 25 of Barnham Road, Norwich, Michael Travell, 38, of Beverley Road, Norwich, and Aaron Williams, 25, of Fleeters Hill, Hingham, all admitted going to a scheduled monument equipped for theft and were each given a 16-week jail sentence, suspended for 18 months.
