Three friends have struck gold after a German artist buried thousands of pounds worth of the precious metal on a Kent beach.

Berlin-based Michael Sailstorfer has hidden 30 bars of 24-carat gold, worth £10,000, under the sand of the Outer Harbour beach in Folkestone as part of the town's triennial arts festival.

Kevin Wood, Kirsty Henderson and her sister Megan became the first confirmed finders yesterday evening when they unearthed a £500 piece after digging for an hour at low tide.

The trio had travelled from Canterbury after hearing about the gold rush on Twitter.

Describing the moment he got lucky, Mr Wood, 28, said: "My legs went from under me and I started shaking.

"I put it quietly in my pocket. We left the beach and half way home, we pulled over for a drink."

The Folkestone Digs project is part of the town's triennial which has previously included work by artists including Tracey Emin, Jeremy Deller and Martin Creed.

Artists including Yoko Ono are taking part in this year's festival which runs from August 30 to November 2.

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