Man charged over theft of 300-year-old bell

Vicar Christine Scott from St Bride's Anglican Church in Otorohanga with the clapper used to ring the the church bell which was stolen and sold for scrap metal. Photo / Christine Cornege

An unemployed man has been charged with stealing a 300-year-old ship's bell used to call parishioners to worship in the small King Country town of Otorohanga.

The man, 29, was arrested in Te Kuiti and appeared in the District Court in Hamilton yesterday where he was remanded in custody on numerous charges to appear again next month.

Police said an arrest warrant had been issued for the man before the bell was stolen from St Bride's Anglican church in Otorohanga.

He faced seven burglary, one theft, two driving and one drugs charge.

The bell was stolen last week, and turned up in a Hamilton scrap dealer's yard.

The yard paid $435 for it, then sent it to its Auckland yard for recycling.

A bell enthusiast at the yard in Auckland put it to one side, and the police were called when the theft hit the headlines.

The 75kg bronze bell came from the British warship HMS Pembroke, which was launched in 1694.

Known as the Pembroke Bell, it was donated to the church by a family in 1960 in memory of their father before they returned to England.

- NZPA