ROMAN coins thrown into a river for good luck have been discovered during sewer improvement works.

Thames Water archaeologist Geoff Potter found six bronze coins from the third and fourth centuries, in Sparrow's Den playing fields beside Addington Road, West Wickham.

He says they could have been thrown from a bridge on the Roman road from London to Lewes, east Sussex, into a now dried-up stream entering the River Ravensbourne.

This would have been for luck or as an offering to the gods.

Two of the coins show the Roman emperors Constantine and Diocletian.

They were found with two Georgian coins, a medieval silver penny and military badges from the Second World War.

They were discovered while the water company was carrying out £4m improvements to sewers, including replacing 700m of pipe, to reduce the risk of flooding.

The coins will be given to Bromley Museum, The Priory, Church Hill, Orpington.

Curator Adrian Green said: "This is really fantastic news.

"This will add to our existing collection and it is good that Roman finds within the borough are kept within the borough."