Crimestoppers offers £5,000 reward for information on theft of rare lighthouse lantern worth over £1m

The historic Hartland Point Lighthouse lantern – dating from the 1800s – was in storage in Ilfracombe to undergo refurbishment

Independent charity Crimestoppers has launched an urgent appeal to locate a vital piece of English coastal heritage after thieves stole a lighthouse lantern, which is one of only three in the world.

It’s feared that the lantern could have been moved from Devon to the West Mercia, West Midlands or Bristol areas and there is now a race against time to stop £1m worth of equipment being melted down.

The lantern was originally installed at Hartland Point Lighthouse, North Devon, and was due to be reinstalled after refurbishment.

A reward of up to £5,000 is being offered by the charity Crimestoppers for information given to them exclusively and anonymously that leads to the return of the stolen lighthouse equipment and the conviction of those responsible*

Mick Duthie, Director of Operations at the charity Crimestoppers, said: ] “It’s so incredibly important for us to protect our precious heritage and that includes key historic structures such as lighthouses on our coastline. It’s sad to think that criminals have stolen vital equipment dating back to the 1800s - one of only three in the world.

“Our charity is here to help and gives people the option of staying completely anonymous whilst doing the right thing. Every day, over a thousand people use our anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call our UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111. We’ve kept our promise of anonymity to everyone who has trusted us since we began in the late 1980s.

“If you have information, please don’t stay silent but speak up - no matter how small you think that information may be, it could make all the difference.  With your help, we can protect our treasured heritage.”

***Information passed directly to police will not qualify for our reward. Only information passed to Crimestoppers using the untraceable anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or via our 0800 555 111 freephone number will qualify***

Please note: Computer IP addresses are never traced, and no-one will ever know you contacted Crimestoppers. For telephone calls, theyt have no caller line display, no 1471 facility and have never traced a call.