Stolen WW1 church memorial found in shop 13 years later

A World War One memorial stolen from a church in 2008 has now has been returned thanks to an "eagle-eyed" off-duty police officer.

Insp Chris Farish was shopping in Durham when he spotted a grave marker for sale in a second-hand shop.

The Northumbria Police officer looked into its origins and found it was listed as being at St Michael and All Angels Church, Warden, Northumberland.

The item was then recovered with the help of Durham Police.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "This was an impressive discovery by our eagle-eyed officer who, thinking it a rather unusual item to see for sale, did some digging in his own time and sought the help of his on-duty colleagues to investigate further.

"Thanks to his dedication and quite frankly thoughtfulness and eagerness to do the right thing and make sure this memorial was returned to the rightful place, a brave soldier's legacy will live on.

"We also want to thank the shop for their assistance in returning the memorial."

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