Efforts to raise £3.3m to keep the Staffordshire Hoard - the largest amount of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in Britain - in the West Midlands have received more than £200,000 from the public.

Launched by historian Dr David Starkey with an initial grant of £300,000 from the Art Fund, the fundraising campaign has also been boosted by £100,000 from both Birmingham City Council (BCC) and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Donations from members of the public now takes the total raised to £750,000 to secure the future of the Hoard, which was discovered in July 2009 by metal detectorist Terry Herbert and features more than 1,500 Anglo-Saxon artefacts dating back to the 7th century.

BCC's cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, Martin Mullaney, said: "The public have taken this campaign to their hearts - you could see that with the huge crowds for the display at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and I expect a similar response in Stoke.

"The Art Fund involvement is obviously significant and has hugely raised the profile of the fundraising campaign. The campaign is making steady progress with support from top politicians, academics, personalities and of course the general public."