METAL thieves have made off with 10 artwork plaques which provided a heritage trail in a historic valley.

The plaques, created by artist Michael Johnson as part of a Newcastle City Council project, showed various images of the heritage of the Ouseburn Valley.

The 12-inch diameter plaques were embedded in a walkway which skirts the river and circles the Ouseburn Farm.

But the thieves hacked eight of the plaques from their bases and then returned a few days later for the remaining two.

“It is so distressing that these beautiful plaques have been sacrificed to greed,” said Newcastle education specialist Alison Stancliffe, who works with children in the Ouseburn Valley.

“Children loved the plaques and would run from one to another and they were a great aid to teaching about the history of the valley. What was a magical trail is gone. One of the pleasures of the plaques is that visitors would come across them unexpectedly but all they will now see are holes in the walkway. It is so upsetting.”

Coun Gerald Bell, deputy cabinet manager for culture and leisure at Newcastle City Council, said: “We are appalled at the thefts which is a sad loss of valuable public art that has been an integral feature of the regeneration of Ouseburn over the past 15 years.

“These particular plaques were commissioned by local artist Michael Johnson and linked the industrial heritage of the area with new creative cluster of artists locating in Ouseburn. The council will work with the police and community groups to do all that it can to catch the people responsible.”

The thefts have come as people can now use the full length of a walkway along the Ouseburn from Byker Bridge to the Tyne.

Ouseburn Trust chairman Sheila Spencer said a metal plaque designed by local children working with an artist, and which had been mounted on Heaton Park’s pavilion, had been stolen three years ago. A second plaque had been damaged in a theft attempt and both had been replaced by non-metal plaques.

The Ouseburn plaques depicted a number of items, including the historic crossing point of the Ouseburn which may have been used by Hadrian’s Wall, wherry boats which ferried goods up and down the Ouseburn, the Metro, Byker and Ouseburn Viaduct bridges across the valley and a representation of the North East folk song Dance to thi Daddy.

Northumbria Police also reported three incidents of metal theft in Gateshead yesterday.