AN ANCIENT granite monument has vanished from a West Devon roadside in one of the most bizarre incidents English Heritage has ever seen.
The metre-long scheduled ancient monument was situated at Place Cross between Hatherleigh and Okehampton and dates from 1704.
Whoever took it must have extraordinary strength or used mobile lifting equipment.
Its inscription ? HATHERLY 1704 SM GL and OKEHAMPTON 1704 ? is valuable evidence of the post-medieval development of the country road infrastructure.
The maximum penalty for removing a scheduled ancient monument is two years imprisonment.
The stone was last seen on May 21 when the site was visited by an engineer from Devon County Council and an English Heritage field monument warden, to consider road improvements at the junction on the A386.
Duncan Bainbridge from English Heritage said lifting gear must have been used to get the mile-post out as it had been there for 300 years.
?The theft of this monument is a most bizarre incident. It is easily recognisable and we would ask people to look out for it in antique shops and reclamation yards specialising in granite objects.?
If seen contact your local English Heritage office or the police.