A FATHER who discovered a 3,000-year-old axe head under land in South Oxfordshire has dubbed it ‘“the find of a lifetime”.

Paul Jones from Brightwell-cum-Sotwell was about to give up and go home after an unsuccessful afternoon metal detecting.

The 57-year-old, who lives in Greenmere, said: “I was suffering from a bad back, but I had just dug up something.

“It looked like a modern axe head. I got home and cleaned it up – then it became more interesting.”

Father-of-two Mr Jones took a photo and put it on an online metal detecting forum he is an active member of. He said: “Within seconds the forum went mad. They said it was a Bronze Age axe head. It’s in a lovely condition.

“Everyone I’ve showed it to said it’s the find of a lifetime.”

Mr Jones, who has been metal detecting for three years ever since his wife Julie bought him a detector for their 30th wedding anniversary, is hoping he can keep the find.

He said: “I’ve already had offers from people wanting to buy it. I’m going to frame it for the living room wall.”

Mr Jones goes out every weekend to hunt for treasure and his favourite thing is coins. He said: “I’ve got 100 Roman ones, about 30 medieval ones and a beautiful little Celtic one.

“I started doing this three years ago – I was getting fat and lazy doing nothing.”

Mr Jones, who runs his own joinery company Facey and Jones, has now sent information about the axe head to the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Oxfordshire.

Spokeswoman Anni Byard said: “If it is just a single Bronze Age axe head that would not constitute treasure.”

The location of the find is being kept secret.