A £5,000 reward is being offered after a rare lighthouse lantern worth £1m was stolen.
There are fears the vital piece of English coastal heritage could be melted down.
In announcing the reward, Crimestoppers said the stolen lantern could have been moved from Devon to the West Mercia, West Midlands or Bristol areas.
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.
