Waverley Borough Council v Fletcher [1995] 4 All ER 756 is an English Court of Appeal case.

Facts

The defendant was using a metal detector in a park owned by the claimant council. The defendant found a brooch and reported this. The Coroner decided that it was not treasure trove

Treasure trove

A treasure trove may broadly be defined as an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the heirs undiscoverable...

. The issue was then who could claim the brooch - the claimant or the defendants.

Judgment

The Court of Appeal held that the council had the better right to the brooch. As it had been found within or attached to the land rather than on the surface it belonged to the person who owned the soil.