Focus on UK Metal Detecting: "Removal of Part of Our Heritage Will not be Tolerated"

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Heritage Action ('Nighthawk caught. Great job, but…', 29/08/2012) read the press releases about the recent conviction of a metal detectorist for theft :

What a crying shame this was said though: “Behaviour such as his removes part of our heritage and will not be tolerated.” Please, Police, English Heritage et al, in future if you’re going to highlight the “heritage loss” aspect of nighthawking rather than the theft aspect, can you not give the public the least reason to believe that illegal metal detecting is the main cause of heritage loss through metal detecting. It isn’t. Legal detecting by those who don’t report their finds is far more widespread and the cause of vastly more heritage loss than nighthawking. And IS tolerated. The public has a right to understand that. Thanks.

Indeed one cannot be under any illusion that Heritage Action is mistaken there. Unless you are the British Museum of course when probably the only comment you will be able to utter is "more trolling.