Three men arrested in Amesbury on suspicion of nighthawking
They were stopped close to Countess Services on the A303
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of nighthawking and going equipped to steal in Amesbury.
Officers from the Neighbourhoods Team were tasked to an incident in the early hours of Saturday (21st October) where nighthawking had been seen along Countess Road.
The trio of males ran away when they spotted officers but were detained and arrested shortly afterwards near Countess service station along the A303.
Numerous items were located with the men, including suspected historical artefacts, metal detectors and metal detecting equipment, which has all been seized.
Wiltshire Police describe nighthawking as “the illegal search for, and removal of antiquities from the ground using metal detectors, without the permission of the landowners, or on prohibited land such as Scheduled Monuments. Nighthawking is therefore theft and a rural crime in which Wiltshire Police are committed to bringing those who commit this crime, to justice.”