'Nighthawkers' target South Devon's most haunted castle

A gang of 'nighthawkers' are being hunted by police after daring to target the most haunted castle in South Devon - if not the UK.

Nighthawking is the theft of archaeological artifacts from protected archaeological sites and areas.

It is believed that on Sunday January 28 around six people went onto a protected site at Berry Pomeroy Castle near Totnes with a metal detector and may have removed artefacts while causing damage to the surrounding area.

Around ten patches of grass were found to have been lifted and placed back at the castle which is famous throughout the world for its ghostly goings-on.

PC Julian Fry, Rural Affairs Officer for Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “This incident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning under the cover of darkness. We are currently working closely with experts from Historic England and English Heritage as part of our inquiries.

“We would like to identify the person pictured as they may have valuable information which could assist us.

“If you have any information, we want to hear from you. Please contact us via 101 or on our website quoting 50240022553.

“The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 affords detailed protection for nationally important sites such as Berry Pomeroy Castle and persons found guilty of offences under this act can receive a substantial fine, a term of imprisonment or both.”

Win Scutt, Senior Properties Curator at English Heritage said: “Staff arriving on Sunday morning found a large number of holes dug into the site, along with scattered rubbish. Damage caused to the archaeology of scheduled monuments by unauthorised use of metal detectors is taken seriously by the law and by the police, who are appealing for information.

“The damage caused by unskilled digging of holes on a nationally important site like this is irreversible. We shall never know how much knowledge has been lost about the history of Berry Pomeroy Castle due to this disturbance of the buried archaeology.

“Berry Pomeroy Castle was built as a defended residence of the Pomeroy family in the 15^th century and later had a large Elizabethan house constructed within its walls. It is one of the largest and most impressive castles in south west England. Because of this importance, it is protected as a Scheduled Monument and is also in the Guardianship of the Secretary of State and in the care of English Heritage.”

Mark Harrison, Head of Heritage Crime for Historic England said: “The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 affords detailed protection for nationally important sites such as Berry Pomeroy Castle and persons found guilty of offences under this act can receive a substantial fine, a term of imprisonment or both.”

“We recognise that overwhelming majority of metal detectorists comply with the law and the ‘Code of Practice for Metal Detecting’ and record their finds with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.”

Information can also be passed anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111, or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.