A campaign has been launched by historian Dr David Starkey to help raise £3.3m to keep the Staffordshire Hoard - the largest amount of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in the UK - in the West Midlands.

The fundraising appeal has been launched with an initial grant of £300,000 from the Art Fund, while Birmingham City Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council have both already agreed to contribute £100,000 to take the sum already raised to £500,000.

Discovered in July 2009 by metal detectorist Terry Herbert, the Staffordshire Hoard is a collection more than 1,500 Anglo-Saxon artefacts dating back to the 7th century and includes 5kg of gold and 1.3kg of silver.

However, the Art Fund-led fundraising campaign has until 17 April to raise the £3.3m necessary to save the Staffordshire Hoard, which will see the collection put on display at the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent.

Starkey said: "Archaeological finds don't come any bigger than this. The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest and most valuable collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever. It is the most important find for over half a century, and, in terms of the history of Middle England, the most important ever.

Dr Stephen Deuchar, the newly-appointed director of the Art Fund, added: "For years to come the treasure will be a source of awe and inspiration for all to experience - and we - along with the rest of the nation - are very much looking forward to discovering its story."