Stolen wooden eagle sawn off church lectern returned
The criminal made off with the 1.5ft wooden sculpture, weighing 5lb and thought to be at least 100 years old, from St Paul's Church in Yelverton, Devon, after forcibly cutting it off on Monday evening.
The culprit had even put a huge Bible to one side before carrying out the act.
However, the eagle, thought to be worth hundreds of pounds, has now been returned after an anonymous caller tipped off the West Dartmoor Mission Community to its whereabouts, the BBC reported. It was found outside a house near the church.
It thanked the public for sharing information about its disappearance, adding it was 'very grateful'.
Rev Andrew Thomas earlier said: 'There's no CCTV to see exactly what happened but... there have been a variety of descriptions for the man, with some saying stocky and some thin, ages have ranged from late 20s to early 50s.
'They had moved the 2kg Bible and placed it to one side, almost in a respectful manner.
'They then took a saw and cut the eagle off. We are just shocked by the brazenness of it.
'It is all just rather sad and disappointing... It's a unique piece, it's clearly been carved by hand sometime in the past. It is an antique and, in that respect, irreplaceable.
'I don't want to put up CCTV cameras as this is a place of worship and I feel like people should be able to do that in peace but I am not completely taking it off the table.'
Sgt Tom Ottley, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: 'The local team are making inquiries and are appealing for anyone with information to get in touch.'
In recent years, criminal gangs have been targeting churches to steal expensive sacred treasures.
Two years ago, thieves used dynamite to blow open a safe at the Lady St Mary Church in Wareham, Dorset, to steal tens of thousands of pounds of silver.
Other churches have lost historical and valuable chalices, candlesticks, crucifixes and plates.
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