Valuable art deco lanterns stolen from outside a Staffordshire school have been returned after they were recovered in Huddersfield.

The two copper lanterns, worth around £10,000, were a feature at Chancel Primary, Rugeley, for decades until they were stolen in March last year.

They have now been returned to the school.

How they came to be in Huddersfield and exactly where they were found has not been disclosed by police.

Police returning the stolen lanterns to the school in Staffordshire where they were stolen

Two men had been captured on CCTV climbing over the school gate.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said the lanterns were recovered earlier this month following information from members of the public and an appeal on BBC’s Crimewatch Roadshow.

He said: “The copper lanterns had been part of the school since it was built in the 1930s and officers were delighted to return them to head teacher Tina Blankley.

CCTV images of men police want to trace in relation to antique lanterns being stolen from a Chancel Primary School in Rugeley, Staffordshire.

“We are continuing to investigate several lines of enquiry and anyone with any information about the theft is asked to contact us on 101, quoting incident number 355 of 11 March.”

Mrs Blankley told the local paper she was “elated and delighted” to have the lanterns back.

“At the time, I was shocked and disgusted,” she said. “They were just part of the building and they are just the sort of thing I walk past every day. It is something you miss once it’s gone. After a while, we had given up hope.”