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'Despicable' theft from Penlee lifeboat station

Penlee lifeboat Door handlePenlee lifeboat
The door handle has been on the lifeboat station since 1912

A cast-iron door handle more than 100 years old has been stolen from a historic lifeboat station.

The metal ring has gone missing from the door to the old Penlee lifeboat station in Mousehole, Cornwall.

It had been a permanent fixture there since the station was built in 1912.

The disused station is maintained as a memorial to the 1981 Penlee lifeboat disaster, in which all eight crew members of the Solomon Browne died at sea.

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A post on the Penlee crew's Facebook page has launched an appeal, saying: "We would love to see the handle returned to Penlee. It's part of our lifeboat history and we want it back."

Penlee lifeboat station Old Penlee lifeboat stationPenlee lifeboat station
The lifeboat station is unmanned and preserved in memory of the 1981 Penlee lifeboat disaster

The crew's post has provoked an angry reaction.

One person commented: "Sad to say, nothing surprises me anymore. Whoever took it has no remorse, no moral compass, no intelligence to know what's right or wrong.

"Stark contrast to you guys, who'd put your life on the line to save others."

Others called the act "despicable" and "senseless vandalism".