An English mayor was fed up with watching 300-year-old coping stones vanish from an 18th-century ancient wall one by one.
Matt Smith said people living near Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire “were getting a bit miffed” with stones being taken from the historic boundary wall, spread along a half-mile stretch of road which connects Holmeswood and Rufford in October 2025. With no cameras around, pointing fingers or catching the thief seemed like an impossible task.
Craig Barker, 41, from Wigan, pleaded guilty to theft and handling stolen goods and was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for 22 months in October. On the scene, police found a substantial number of coping stones from the vandalised wall, reportedly worth around £7,000 / $9,300—but Smith claimed dozens of others were also found from across the country, making the estimated total value up to £40,000.
The coping stones were later returned and the “extremely grateful” residents rebuilt the wall. The tracker led police to an address in Wigan and eventually saw a man plead guilty to two counts of theft and one count of handling stolen goods at Wigan Magistrates’ Court in October, according to a BBC report. About four weeks later, his phone began to ping with the tracking device on the move to an address in Winstanley in Wigan. He contacted the police, who went to the address and made an arrest.
Speaking after the case, PC Sean Dalby said it highlighted “the strong relationships we have developed with our communities and demonstrates the effectiveness of working together to tackle rural and heritage crime”. “I would like to thank the local residents for their support throughout the investigation, as well as those who gave their time to rebuild the wall free of charge,” he added.