Nighthawkers hunted by police after historic Devon castle is targeted by the illegal late night metal detectorists
Illegal metal detectorists have triggered a police hunt after they trespassed the grounds of an historic castle.
Officials say they are investigating an incident of 'nighthawking' in Lydford where the intruders left multiple holes in their wake.
The target was medieval Lydford Castle and Saxon Town in Lydford on the fringe of Dartmoor.
Nighthawking involves trespassing on land and stealing historical objects for profit or personal gain and is considered 'heritage theft'.
The area boasts two castles - a post Conquest castle and a 13th century stone tower which was used as a prison.
English Heritage manages the protected site which is a tourist attraction.
It comes after a gang of five metal detectorists admitted illegally plundering ancient artefacts from protected historic sites during a series of night-time raids.
The quintent unearthed and stole bronze axe heads and old coins from Beeston Castle, in Cheshire and the Grade II-listed Roche Abbey in Yorkshire while using metal detectors.
According to legend, Richard II is said to have buried royal treasure in the grounds of Beeston Castle, although none has ever been discovered, while Roche Abbey is home to the remains of a 12th Century monastery.
Chester Magistrates Court heard English Heritage and police discovered the crime after the grounds at both sites were found littered with holes in December 2019.
Analysis of a suspect's mobile uncovered a five-strong nighthawking WhatsApp group, as well as details of their haul.
The five appeared at Chester Magistrates last Friday, after the investigation by Cheshire Police, Historic England and South Yorkshire Police.
They were handed a five-year CBO banning them from metal detecting at any English Heritage site - a first for Cheshire and the North West.
Gary Flanagan, 33, and John Lorne, 29, admitted taking coins and artefacts from Beeston Castle and Roche Abbey in December 2019.
Flanagan, of Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, was handed £1,100 in fines and costs while Lorne, of Droylsden, Greater Manchester, must pay £1,760.
Daniel Lloyd, 33, and James Ward, 32, both of Droylsden, admitted taking bronze age axe head's and coins from Beeston Castle in December 2019.
Lloyd was ordered to pay £600 while Ward - who also admitted producing a small quantity of cannabis - was ordered to pay £1,430.
Curtis Barlow, 32, of Droylsden, admitted taking coins and artefacts from Roche Abbey in December 2019 and ordered to pay £572.
All five were each ordered to pay an £85 victims surcharge and must forfeit their metal detectors, worth an estimated value of £1,000.
Mark Harrison, head of Heritage Crime Strategy for Historic England, said: 'A decade ago we didn't have the techniques necessary to investigate this criminal behaviour.
'We have now developed the expertise, capability and partnerships to identify and prosecute the small criminal minority of nighthawks.
Curtis Barlow (left) and Francis Ward (right) were part of the five-strong nighthawking gang
Gary Flanagan, 33 (left) and John Lorne, 29 (right) also admitted illegally plundering the sites
Daniel Lloyd, 33, of Droylsden, was the fifth gang member banned from metal detecting at English Heritage sites
'The overwhelming majority of metal detectorists comply with the legislation and codes of practice.'
Mr Harrison added: 'When thieves steal artefacts from a protected archaeological site, they are stealing from all of us and damaging something often irreplaceable.'
English Heritage properties curator Win Scutt said: 'Illegal metal detecting robs us of our past.
'Whilst this prosecution is good news, sadly the damage incidents like these cause can never be repaired.
'Beeston Castle and Roche Abbey are protected in law because of the lessons we can learn from their unique archaeology.
'Unlawful attacks like these can cause such insight to be lost forever.'
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