Man found literal buried treasure when digging up his garden and officials immediately got involved

A fella in France struck gold while digging out a swimming pool in his back garden - to the tune of €700,000 (£616,175).

In May this year, the unnamed man found the buried treasure while revamping the outdoor area of his home in the town of Neuville-sur-Saone, which is situated just outside Lyon.

He seemingly has something of a Midas Touch, as when he broke ground to dig a pool in his garden, he discovered plastic bags that were teeming with gold.

In total, he found 'five gold bars and many coins' buried underneath the surface, according to local newspaper Le Progrès.

The bloke had owned the home for around a year before he decided to install a pool and unknowingly make himself hundreds of thousands of euros richer.

The gold haul has been valued at a whopping €700,000 (Getty Stock Image)

Honourably, he then reported his find to the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, which then had to determine whether the buried treasure was of any archaeological value.

According to France's Ministry of Culture, any accidental discovery of archaeological objects or remains 'must be immediately declared to the town hall and to the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs'.

READ MORE:

FATHER AND SON UNEARTH MYSTERIOUS ARTEFACT ON UK TREASURE HUNT

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER MYSTERY SKULL DATING BACK 286,000 YEARS

However, France's 19th-century civil code states that 'ownership of a treasure belongs to the one who finds it on their own property'.

Treasure is classed as 'any hidden or buried thing over which no one can prove their ownership, and which is discovered purely by chance' - which perfectly describes what happened to this man.

The bloke has been allowed to keep the incredible find (Getty Stock Image)

Investigations into the gold haul then found that the bars and coins were only somewhere between 15 to 20 years old, while it was also confirmed that it had not been acquired by criminal means.

Each piece was etched with a unique tracing number, allowing authorities to work out where they had come from.

Reports state that the precious metal stuffed inside plastic bags had been melted down by a company in Lyon.

As a result, the homeowner was allowed to keep the gold bars and coins he unearthed six months ago, so he's now swimming in the deep end of the wealth pool.

How and why the gold ended up there remains a mystery though, as the former owner of the pad in Neuville-sur-Saone has passed away, a spokesperson for the local authority said.

Well, take this as proof that honesty really is the best policy.