A METAL detecting rally is taking place in the North Tyne this weekend.

North of the Tyne Detecting are holding Detectorcon near Bellingham between Friday, July 23 and Sunday, July 25.

There will be over 900 acres of land to detect, including a mixture of pasture, ploughed and woodland - all previously undetected.

There will be a marquee with traders, live evening entertainment, a full licensed bar, food stands, fire-pit, and a prize raffle.

499 people will be attending the rally this weekend, with tickets selling out in less than two weeks.

The event was planned for 2020, but was unable to go ahead due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This will be North of the Tyne Detecting’s first major event.

North of the Tyne Detecting was founded in 2018 by Paul Scott.

He had acquired permission to search on a huge area of land in the North Tyne, more than he could cover in a lifetime, and knowing how hard it is to get land for metal detecting, decided to start a group.

“We are about having fun, enjoying the hobby, and trying to save some of the local history,” Paul said.

The group hold regular weekend digs, and have around 2,600 members on their Facebook group.

Many of the digs are run to raise money for local charities.

Some of Detectorcon’s sponsors have donated to charity Children North East.

The children’s charity are also going to be benefitting from a raffle which will be held during the event.

Carol Taylor, Senior Fundraiser at the charity, said: “Children North East were thrilled to be contacted and selected to benefit from Detectorcon 2021 and can’t thank Paul Scott and this generous group enough for organising a weekend of activities.

“2021 is our 130th anniversary year and Covid has had a major impact on our income and our own events we had planned to celebrate so this will help to raise awareness as well as valuable funds that will help stay in our region and help make a big difference.”

Paul added they have been working alongside local hotels and B&B’s, with many of the attendees staying in them for the weekend.

Full weekend tickets also included the option to camp on site.