Wha's like us … David Booth

TREASURE hunting can be a hit-and-miss business. Long lonely hours buffeted by the elements at isolated locations. Excited expectation followed by crushing disappointment. A bit like fishing really.

Yet, it's not really like that for David Booth. It's less than a year ago since he picked up his electronic metal detector for the first time and set off into the fields, more in curiosity than hope, only to stumble across four 2,000-year-old gold neckbands.

This week he was at it again. The chief warden at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling, uncovered a medieval seal bearing a carving of a Roman figure in red jasper . This has now been despatched to the Treasure Trove Unit at the National Museum of Scotland to join his previous finds.

The 35-year-old father may not enjoy the unqualified support of his partner, ("She thinks it's a bit dorky") but he does provide a beacon of hope for those less fortunate amateurs, casting their eyes to the heavens as another discarded Irn Bru can is unearthed.