THIEVES took hundreds of pounds worth of ornamental stones from nine neighbouring homes.

The stones included parts of walls or gateposts in Chorley, and included valuable pieces worth up to £500. Decorative coping stones worth £100 were stolen from a wall outside a house in Carrington Road between 5pm on Saturday, January 25, and 9am the following day.

And in Hamilton Road ornamental balls worth £175 were removed from two gateposts. Two adjoining houses in Drinkhouse Road, Croston, were then hit when coping stones worth £200 were stolen.

A £550 marble statue bolted to a concrete plinth in Chorley Road, Withnell, was also taken, followed by a Victorian chimney pot worth £50 from Larkfield, in Eccleston. Finally, two homes in The Green, Eccleston, were taken and expensive stones from a garden wall, valued at £400, and a terracotta pillar cap worth £60 were taken.

Detective Constable Gareth Stockley, of Chorley Police, said it was likely the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for.

"The stones look unassuming but can be worth a lot of money. They are quite heavy and cumbersome, so two or more people were probably responsible.

"But the fact that the stones cannot be secured properly means they are easy to take. They are taken to sell on to stone merchants who pay a good rate as these kind of things are fairly fashionable at the moment. We would like people to be aware and keep an eye out for anyone acting suspiciously.

"Of course, if anyone has any information we would be grateful if they could give us a call."

Anyone with information can contact Chorley Police on 01257 269021.