War trench material targeted by thieves in Oswestry
The organiser of an exhibition commemorating World War One is appealing for witnesses after timber was stolen from his mock trench project.
At least 50 wooden planks and several metal cages have been taken from the field at Park Hall Countryside Experience near Oswestry, where Mark Hignett and his team of volunteers have been busy building the trenches.
The team started excavation eight weeks ago and are midway through construction, but progress will now be delayed after the theft.
Mr Hignett said he was saddened and disappointed to discover the crime.
"The project is to commemorate 100 years since World War One, so we didn't expect anybody to pinch anything, really," he said. "It's very sad.
"I think it's very sad for the volunteers, because obviously all of the labour is volunteer-led. We've got volunteers who've put hours in and now the project is going to be delayed. So it's very frustrating when you give your time up and somebody pinches your materials and you can't finish the project."
The wood, specifically ordered for the project by Mr Hignett, was intended for the walls of underground rooms in the trenches, while the metal cages were to reinforce the ditches.
The materials were funded by the Heritage Lottery, and Mr Hignett is hoping that somebody will have information that can lead to their recovery.
"It either went on late Wednesday night after half past eight after we left, or it happened Thursday night after Park Hall closed in the evening," he said.
"We're hoping that somebody may have seen somebody late Wednesday or Thursday night with timber and thought nothing of it at the time, but if they read about it might speak up."
The history enthusiast said it was "pure coincidence" that the timber's absence was noticed.
"Because we were getting a bit short of the timber – it's special order timber – we counted how many boards we'd got left so we knew we'd got 150 left we knew we needed exactly 150 planks to finish the rooms. And when I came in on Friday Brian told me that he'd counted and 50 planks of timber had gone.
"They could have taken more wood off a separate pile, but we hadn't counted it so we can't be sure."
Anyone with any information about the theft can telephone police on 101.
