Two men have appeared on Polish TV saying they are the finders of a Nazi train said to be laden with gold - a claim that came as the military inspected the alleged site in south-west Poland.

Identifying themselves as Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper, the men appeared on TVP.INFO.

Authorities in the city of Walbrzych said last month that two men had contacted them through lawyers claiming they had found an armoured train that possibly contains valuables and weapons.

The report sparked a gold rush around Walbrzych, where tales have circulated since the Second World War that the Nazis hid a train full of gold from the Soviet Army in early 1945.

"As the finders of a World War Two armoured train, we, Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper, declare that we have legally informed state authorities about the find and have precisely indicated the location in the presence of Walbrzych authorities and the police," Mr Koper said, reading a statement on TV with Mr Richter at his side.

"We have irrefutable proof of its existence."

Their knowledge is based on information from witnesses, and research carried out with their own equipment, Mr Koper said.

TVP.INFO said the train is not in a tunnel, as previously believed, but buried in the ground. Mr Koper said the two men are ready to cover the costs of the train's retrieval and want it to become a local tourist attraction.

TV cameras showed Polish military officials checking the purported site in the woods, which police are patrolling to keep swarms of treasure hunters from digging it up.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.