A carved wooden eagle stolen from the lectern of a West Devon church has been returned.

The eagle was sawn off the lectern of St Paul’s Church in Yelverton on Monday afternoon (May 12).

Church rector, the Rev Andrew Thomas, reported last night (Thursday, May 15) that the eagle had been returned.

He had a phone call from an unknown man who said the eagle had been dumped outside a house nearby.

The rector said: “I have been to collect is and it is now safely home. The police are still very interested in hearing from anyone who has information about this incident.”

Witnesses have reported seeing a man walking down the main road at Horrabridge on the Monday afternoon carrying a wooden bird. A person was then seen on Tuesday walking past Lidl, on Plymouth Road, in Tavistock, carrying a wooden eagle.

The theft from the unlocked church happened at about 3pm on Monday.

The Rev Thomas said at the time: “We are keen for everyone to spread the word about the theft, to make the eagle too ‘hot’ to handle and sell and hopefully it will be returned.

“I have mixed feelings about the theft, firstly anger and frustration that anyone should think they are entitled to just walk into a church and steal and desecrate the lectern which belongs to the community and the church.

“Secondly, I’m sad that someone is in this place in their mindset to commit a crime. This is an important part of the church, from which the community receive the story of hope.”

He said the eagle was about 100 years old: “The attraction for thief is that the eagle is unique in being handmade, you can see the carving tool markings. But we want to make as many people as possible aware that it’s stolen.

“This has all the signs of a well-planned theft. They seemed to know what they were after and that they were likely to succeed. From witnesses, it appears the thief walked quite a long way with a saw in daylight and wasn’t deterred by the iron rod that ran through the length of the lectern.

“They took the Bible off the lectern, placed it nearby and placed the lectern on the floor and sawed through it to remove the eagle, leaving sawdust on the carpet and cracking the lectern close to the eagle. They were then seen walking on the main road past Horrabridge openly carrying it and were seen the next day again carrying it uncovered in public.”

The eagle is the ancient symbol of St John, one of the original 12 apostles and disciples of Christ. Therefore, its use on the lectern is symbolic, as it is used to evangelise and proclaim the story of salvation.

The Rev Thomas stressed: “The church remains unlocked as it’s important it remains a place of refuge and sanctuary to our community.”

Anyone with information on the theft is asked to contact the police. The crime reference number is 50250119107. Call police on 101 or report through the Devon & Cornwall Police website.