A silver spoon hidden under Herefordshire soil for hundreds of years has been declared treasure.

The spoon, believed to be 388 years old, was found in Much Marcle last September by a metal detector enthusiast who was searching a farmer’s field.

The handle is bent over but there are maker’s marks which reveal the spoon, measuring just over 12cm from top to bottom, was made some time between 1624 and 1625.

The mark of a crowned leopard’s head and a lion confirm it is silver and probably made in London.

An inquest at Hereford Town Hall last week deputy coroner for Herefordshire, Roland Wooderson, said the spoon qualified as treasure and is now with the British Museum in London.