Stolen war plaque cut into four

The recovered plaque was stolen on Sunday night

A plaque stolen from a Devon war memorial and later recovered by police has been cut into four pieces.

The recovered plaque was stolen from the naval war memorial on Plymouth Hoe, Devon, hours after a Veterans' Day event on Sunday.

Three more were stolen overnight and a fifth has been damaged.

A scrap metal dealer in the Plymouth area, who does not want to be identified, contacted police and the plaque was recovered from him.

The plaque is now going to be forensically examined in a bid to find out who stole it.

Police said the plaque, listing the names of some of the city's war dead, had been cut into four pieces and someone had tried to grind some of the names away. Veterans and families of serving personnel had angrily condemned the thefts.

The plaques, which are valued at about £2,000 each, were being restored.