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George Powell, a metal detector enthusiast previously convicted for stealing part of a significant £3 million Viking treasure hoard, has pleaded guilty to stabbing his friend following a dispute over stolen gold. The attack took place at a caravan park in Paignton, Devon, in October 2025, while Powell was evading police capture. The victim, Lewis Prosser, sustained severe injuries including a brain bleed, a fractured jaw and ankle, and now suffers from epilepsy as a result of the assault. Powell received a 20-month prison sentence for this violent incident.
Powell, aged 45 and originally from Newport, South Wales, had already served time for his involvement in the theft of around 300 Viking coins and gold jewellery discovered in Herefordshire in 2015. This invaluable find, one of the largest treasure discoveries in British Isles history, was valued at £3 million. Despite the magnitude of the hoard, Powell, along with Layton Davies, chose to illegally sell parts of it rather than declare it, forfeiting the chance to become legitimately wealthy. Powell was sentenced to a decade in prison for theft and concealing the treasure, while Davies from Pontypridd was given an additional five years and three months for failing to pay his share of the hoard’s value.
In 2025, while on the run from the police after missing a court date in Birmingham regarding a separate charge linked to the hoard, Powell was offered shelter by Prosser at a caravan site in Devon. The two men had been drinking when an argument erupted in the early morning hours of October 18th, stemming from Prosser accusing Powell of stealing gold and jewellery from him. The prosecution described how Prosser was violently attacked, “woke to find Powell repeatedly striking him with a knife and a truncheon baton,” before fleeing to a neighboring caravan for assistance. Emergency services were summoned, and Prosser was hospitalised for ten days following the assault.
At court, Prosser shared a victim impact statement revealing the profound consequences of the attack on his life, saying, “I have four or five seizures a day and I have made multiple attempts to take my life. I have been admitted to a psychiatric ward and I am reliant on my family to take care of me.” Powell contended the stabbing was in self-defense, but Judge Stephen Climie disagreed, emphasizing the brutality of the assault and sentencing Powell to an additional 20 months in prison. This new sentence will run consecutively with his existing five years and three months imprisonment for failing to repay money related to the hoard. Furthermore, Powell was issued a restraining order banning contact with Prosser for ten years
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