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Gold rush continues in Folkestone as Canterbury couple finds nugget buried on Outer Harbour beach near Sunny Sands as part of Triennial

A man who found one of the hidden pieces of gold on Folkestone beach says he will treat his girlfriend to a romantic trip to Paris.

Kevin Wood and Kirsty Henderson were on their second day of digging to find some of the £10,000 of buried treasure at Outer Harbour beach near Sunny Sands as part of the Triennial.

Mr Wood, from Canterbury, said it was a "one-in-a-million" chance when they found the nugget at about 7pm last night.

Kevin Wood and Kirsty Henderson with their Folkestone gold
Kevin Wood and Kirsty Henderson with their Folkestone gold

He said: “Basically we had quite a laugh the first day we went down there so Kirsty suggested we go again.

“Everyone was there with metal detectors and I didn’t think we would have much luck ahead of them.

“Kirsty picked a random spot and we kept digging.

“I was getting quite disheartened and I was ready to give up to be honest, but Kirsty was still excited and said we could find one.

“I carried on a little bit and it just popped out. I was quite excited.

“It wasn’t very deep – it was only about 10cm down so I wasn’t expecting to find it.”

There's gold in that there beach - many people spent hours digging during the Triennial. Picture: Paul Amos
There's gold in that there beach - many people spent hours digging during the Triennial. Picture: Paul Amos

The 28-year-old said he just popped it in his pocket and didn’t make a big fuss.

He added: “It seems like a million to one chance with all that sand there and all those people going for it.”

The installation, entitled “Folkestone Digs”, is funded by Bristol-based designers Situations and the idea for the project came from Berlin-based artist Michael Sailstorfer.

The small gold bars - similar to a dog tag - come in two sizes, worth around £250 and £500.

People hunt on Folkestone's Outer Harbour beach for £10,000 of buried gold
People hunt on Folkestone's Outer Harbour beach for £10,000 of buried gold

Mr Wood’s was one of the larger 20g pieces. “We’re planning a trip to Paris on the Eurostar,” he said.

Despite the find he said they will return today and thinks it’s been good for Folkestone.

He added: “It’s encouraging people to go down there. I hadn’t been to Folkestone for about 10 years.”

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