Sawn-off eagle lectern returned after anonymous call

A hand-carved wooden eagle stolen from a church in Devon has been returned.

The sculpture was sawn off a lectern at St Paul’s in Yelverton on Monday evening, the Reverend Andrew Thomas said.

The West Dartmoor Mission Community said the eagle had been returned to the church after an anonymous caller tipped them off to its whereabouts.

It thanked the public for sharing information about its disappearance, adding it was “very grateful”.

The church mission said the sculpture had been recovered from outside a house near the church in Yelverton.

It said police were still interested in any information relating to the disappearance of the sculpture.