Historic wall is target of stone thieves

11:32am Thursday 15th February 2007

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AN ancient stone wall in Nangreaves, dating back more than 160 years, is slowly being destroyed by thieves stealing coping stones in the middle of the night.

Four heavy stones and one paving slab have gone missing from the wall one by one since December and fears have been raised it could now collapse if any more are taken.

The wall dates back to the 1840s when the village was first built and is part of the conservation area which residents believe could make the stones quite valuable.

It is not yet known how much it will cost to replace the coping stones, but it is expected to be £50 for every paving slab.

Val Wood, from Nangreaves Residents' Association, said: "We have raised the issue with local councillors and the police to make them aware of what is happening but unfortunately we are not able to do anything else because it is happening in the middle of the night."