Builders unearth €9m gold loot sealed in walls of Belgian property

Builders renovating a house in Belgium have discovered a stash of gold reportedly worth some €9m (£7.6m) sealed into the walls of its cellar.

The construction workers stumbled across the hidden trove of gold bars and coins while drilling to lay new sewage pipes in the property in east Flanders earlier this week, local media report.

The discovery has sparked interest in who might get to keep the loot - with both the builders and the local charity that owns the site having a chance of claiming it.

An investigation has been launched and local police cautioned anyone hoping to go looking for more treasure that the site had been "turned upside down" and the gold moved to a secure location.

The builders unearthed the hoard while working on the building's foundations - including an 18-year-old working a summer job.

"Our first reaction was actually disbelief, amazement," the student, named Kobe, told Belgian public broadcaster VRT.

"At first I thought they were €1 coins. But then we also saw a gold nugget lying there. That's when we realised it was something bigger."

Soon after, they alerted police to the discovery and explained that them keeping it for themselves was not an option.