WEST Devon police believe they may have found the three church bells, which were stolen from a workshop in Pixon Lane Parade Business Park in Tavistock on August 13. The valuable and weighty church bells, worth £30,000, belonged to the All Saints Church in Merton, and were at the workshop being repaired. Police said the thieves broke into the premises between 6.40pm and 9.15am and forced open padlocks, causing around £500 of damage, before using a forklift to force and hold open a shutter door while the bells were taken. All of the bells have moulding wire lines, and are valuable as they are made from 70% copper. Two of the bells were 4cwt and the third weighed a quarter of a ton. Tavistock detectives say they have now received information from a person in a large Northern city who claims to have found the bells close to his business. Final identification is yet to be carried out by a representative of the church parish. Police say if the bells do belong to the church, then they may well be returned within the next few weeks. The vicar of All Saints Church, the Rev Christian Merryvale, said when the theft was discovered the parishioners had been ?devastated? by the theft of the bells. Three businessmen even offered a reward of £10,000 a few days later, in the hope that information would be forthcoming regarding the whereabouts of the bells. Martin Warren, the team rector for All Saints Church, this week told the Times that not many of the parishioners knew the bells may have been located. Mr Warren said he was sure everyone in the community would be delighted to hear the news. ?If they are ours we will be very pleased,? he said.
