A former nurse believes Nottingham could be sitting on a goldmine after finding some precious grains in Clifton and Ruddington.
Alex Leeman, 37, of West Bridgford, decided to try his hand at gold hunting after watching popular programmes such as Gold Rush on his television.
Mr Leeman, a former palliative care nurse, said he was always interested in geology as a child and was fascinated by volcanoes.
He has now decided to ditch the nursing and become a gold prospector after travelling as far as Tenerife on a hunt for the precious chemical element.
Having spent time studying and buying his own kit, he decided to follow the path of Bardon Hill near Coalville which used to be a volcano.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: "I think it is something that has been overlooked. Nottingham is a basin and it is a great gold catching zone, lost in our sand and gravel.
"I have been in touch with a few other prospectors across the UK.
"Many like to go where the gold has already been found. But its nice to take a punt on some good information once and a while and try a new spot.
"There's a bit of a myth that gold can’t be panned in Nottinghamshire, it’s probably too deep." He feels his discovery disproves that theory.
He believes that gold found at Bardon Hill, which was once a volcano, may have been displaced to other parts of the country.
Following the water, he set up camp at Fairham Brook, which joins the River Trent near Silverdale, on the outskirts of Nottingham near Clifton Bridge.
He started in Clifton, using a pan and buckets, where he claims he found five specs of gold at Millhill Spinney before finding eight or nine grains in Ruddington near to Clifton College.
He does not have the equipment to enter rivers safely so has only been able to locate gold in swallow water such as brooks and streams.
But he believes his find could indicate Nottingham is sitting on a goldmine.
He said: "I am thinking 'is the gold closer to us then we actually think?' I think the River Trent should have gold in it, without a doubt.
"If I am finding gold in Silverdale I would be very surprised if it is not in the sand and gravel at Holme Pierrepont.
"Brooks are safe but when you are talking rivers higher than your head you need to have someone there for safety."
He is now looking for someone who can examine his potential gold as it has not yet been evaluated. At the moment, he has made no money from his new venture.
"I do it as a hobby. It has cost me money but it has kept me going and it is paying off.
"After mulling it over I looked at the Ruddington fault line. I saw it stretched into some quite interesting low areas on the topographic maps.
"So I decided to walk the fault line zone area and find where I could potentially pan for gold and that is how I ended up at Ruddington Bridge, striking not the mother-load, but just good proof that gold is here and it can be found by gold panning."
