'Stolen' war medals found during litter pick

The items were found hidden in a pillowcase in a carrier bag near the former railway depot at Laira

War medals, old coins and jewellery have been found by a litter picking group in Devon.

Clean Our Patch Community Interest Company said volunteers found the items hidden in a pillowcase in a carrier bag near the former railway depot at Laira in Plymouth on Wednesday.

Co-founder El Clarke said the items were handed to police after discovering they matched those that went missing after a burglary in 2019.

The BBC has contacted Devon and Cornwall Police for comment.

Volunteers said the items matched those described in a police report

Ms Clarke described the items as a "real-life treasure".

"It was obviously stolen goods from somewhere and we were hoping that we would be able to find out who it belonged to and get it back to them," she said.

The group shared a post on its Facebook page in attempt to locate the owner.

Ms Clarke said they were then contacted by one of their followers who discovered the items matched those described in a police report.

'Really worth doing'

She said it was important the items were returned to their owner.

"These sort of things mean an awful lot to the people that have been awarded them and it was really important that we we tried our best to get them back to where they belonged," she said.

"It just shows that you really can find absolutely anything when you're out litter picking.

"It's really worth doing... these people haven't seen their stuff in four-and a half years since it was stolen from them."