THE trial of a man accused of attempting to steal Salisbury Cathedral's Magna Carta by using a hammer, and causing more than £14,000 of damage in the process, has started today.

Mark Royden, of Kent, has appeared at Salisbury Crown Court this morning after denying the charge of criminal damage and attempted theft of the "priceless, irreplaceable document" in October 2018.

The trial is expected to last between four and five days.

Salisbury Journal: The damaged case which contained the Magna CartaThe damaged case which contained the Magna Carta

Speaking during the opening of the case last June, prosecutor Ryan Seneviratne claimed Royden entered the cathedral equipped with a hammer, before setting off a fire alarm as a distraction.

Seneviratne added that Royden then went for the document, causing £14,466 of damage to the "special case" the 800-year-old document was housed in.

Royden, who was representing himself, denied all the charges against him.

As reported, Salisbury Cathedral's copy of the Magna Carta is one of four that remain in existence from the original 1215 charter.

Salisbury Journal: Mark Royden, 46 from Devon, arriving at Salisbury Magistrates' Court last June for a hearing where he denied the charges relating to the attempted theft of the Magna CartaMark Royden, 46 from Devon, arriving at Salisbury Magistrates' Court last June for a hearing where he denied the charges relating to the attempted theft of the Magna Carta

King John issued the Magna Carta after agreeing peace terms with a band of rebel barons and it is now one of the world's most celebrated legal documents.

It established for the first time that neither monarch nor government was above the law and set out principles of liberty which echoed through the centuries.