A pensioner has been charged after £1million worth of historically significant artefacts from an undeclared Viking hoard have been recovered.

A 73-year-old man from Loveclough, Rossendale, and a 44-year-old man from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, have been charged with conspiracy to convert criminal property and possession of criminal property between September 2018 and May 2019 after raids conducted in 2019 found coins and silver ingot with an estimated value of almost £1 million.

The 73-year-old has also been charged with possession of criminal property.

The coins came from an undeclared Viking hoard and are believed to be of major historical significance.

They are on unconditional bail and will appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on September 7.

The hoard includes coins of Alfred the Great of Wessex and his less well-known contemporary Ceolwulf II of Mercia.

It is considered important because it fills a gap in the understanding of history at this time.

Until now, accounts suggested Ceolwulf of Mercia was a puppet of the Vikings and a minor nobleman rather than a proper king.

But the coins tell a very different historical story and show two rulers standing side by side as allies.

King Alfred inflicted a major defeat on the Vikings in 878 and experts from the British Museum believe the coins belong to a hoard consistent with the location of the Viking army at that time.