War memorial plaques stolen

This really is a very upsetting story for the relatives of some of our war heroes. It involves the theft of four bronze plaques taken from their place on the big war memorial on Plymouth Hoe. The plaques containing the names of some of the war dead are believed to have been taken because the prices of metals has soared recently. One of them went just hours after the National Veterans Day on Sunday and the others went during the following night. The British Legion, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the people of Plymouth and our two counties are absolutely outraged by this despicable crime. A scrap metal dealer in the Plymouth area contacted police and the first plaque, damaged and cut up into four has been recovered from him. Hopefully the police will be able to glean a good deal of forensic evidence from these pieces and before long bring the perpetrators to justice.