A ‘MISSING’ statue of Moses, which stood outside a former Burnley Baptist chapel for 20 years, has been tracked down by the Lancashire Telegraph.

Onlookers had questioned the disappearance of the 10-foot high sculpture from a plinth beneath the old Aenon chapel in Red Lion Street.

Work is ongoing by contractors, on behalf of NHS East Lancashire, to turn the empty chapel into a dental super-centre.

And the health trust had always said that the monument was likely to be removed as part of the redevelopment.

Now the absent Moses has been found in the grounds of a Preston architectural antiques specialist Ribble Reclamation.

Dale Sumner, the firm’s antiques expert, said: “It is very unusual.

"I’ve been involved in antiques for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.

“We got a call from the developers to have a look at it.

"When I first went to see it, it didn’t look like much.

“The plinth was cracked and it looked like it was going to tip over.

"But it’s 10 feet high and about five feet in circumference.

"It’s a beautiful monument and you see a lot of them in America, particularly outside courthouses.”

Mr Sumner, who specialises in gardening and building design, is now offering the Moses statue up for sale.

The monument was first installed by businessman Paul Dew in 1990 and is based on a Michelangelo masterpiece.

Under planning conditions, the health trust was not required to keep the statue in situ.

Up to 12 dental practices, and facilities for trainee surgeons, will be created when the converted chapel opens later this year.