Stolen milestone found installed as garden ornament
A milestone - similar to the one pictured a mile away in Idridgehay - went missing from a roadside
- Published
A historic milestone stolen from the side of a road has been recovered after racking up several hundred miles itself.
The Grade II-listed milepost, originally installed south of Idridgehay, near Belper in Derbyshire, was reporting missing in early August.
Members of the Milestone Society spotted the cast iron marker - put in place in the 19th Century to show travellers they were four miles (6.4km) from Wirksworth, nine miles (14.5km) from Derby and 135 miles (217.2km) from London - listed in the lots of a completed auction in Welshpool, Powys, in Wales.
Derbyshire Police's rural policing team picked up the trail from the auction and tracked the milepost down to its new owner, who had installed it in their garden in Derby.
It had been bought in June in Cumbria and then listed for sale - but who took it in the first place remains a mystery.
There are some 2,300 milestones across England and Wales, the Milestone Society says
PC Daniel Tomlinson said: "I've been with Derbyshire Police for 11 years but it's the first time a theft of a milestone has come across my desk.
"I spoke to the auction house and luckily the gentleman that had purchased the milestone lived in Derby to install in his garden as he thought it looked nice.
"We were able to go down and visit him, he had no idea that it was listed and shouldn't have been in the auction, we've arranged for it to be uninstalled from his garden and passed back to Derbyshire County Council."
It is now due to be reinstalled in its original location, after completing a journey of at least 400 miles (634.7km).
Rob Westlake, chairman of the Milestone Society, said: "The theft of milestones isn't uncommon, so it's great that this one was spotted.
"This is a huge good news story for our society, it will be a lovely moment to see it back in position."
The investigation into the original theft remains ongoing, police added.
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