Hundreds of treasure hunters in a Chinese village have ignored police and dug up ancient coins at a site near a river in southeast China.

The artefacts, which are thought to be from the Qing Dynasty, were reportedly dug up without permission by villagers including pensioners and children near Gan River in Xingan county, Jiangxi province.

As the villagers dug up more than 500kg of the ancient coins, local police apparently had to bring in reinforcements to cordon off the area while authorities organise an archaeological dig at the site.

The coins are thought to date back to the 1700s, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty.

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According to a Chinese media site, an official from Zhejiang province came to the village to buy the coins for 200 (£23) yuan, and then 700 yuan (£82), but the villagers did not want to sell them.

Private excavation of antiques is illegal in China and according to Chinese law, all discoveries belong to the government.