Two divers who plundered a protected World War I shipwreck have been handed significant prison sentences, in a case that highlights the enduring legal and historical value of underwater heritage sites.
Nigel Ingram, 57, and John Blight, 58, were convicted of fraud by failing to disclose recovered items after looting approximately 100 artefacts from the wreck of HMS Hermes off the coast of Kent. The pair removed items including the ship’s bells and a torpedo hatch, with the metal they took valued at £150,000. On Friday, Ingram was jailed for four years and Blight for three-and-a-half years at Canterbury Crown Court.
HMS Hermes, a battle cruiser sunk by German forces in 1914 with the loss of 44 British lives, lies in waters that are legally protected precisely because of their historical importance. Rather than respecting that status, Ingram and Blight treated the wreck as a commercial opportunity, recovering artefacts for financial gain and ultimately selling material for scrap.
After sentencing, investigating officer Pc Anne Aylett of Kent Police said the case demonstrated a “complete disregard for the law.”
“The HMS Hermes and other shipwrecks of its kind are legally protected for a reason, and that is because they form an important part of the history of this country,” she said. “Nigel Ingram and John Blight have demonstrated a complete disregard for the law by helping themselves to artefacts that should have remained beneath the sea instead of being brought to the surface and sold for scrap metal.”
The looting has drawn sharp criticism from heritage experts, who warn of the irreversible damage caused by such acts. Mark Harrison, head of heritage crime and policing advice for Historic England, emphasised the broader implications.
“All archaeological sites underwater comprise a finite, irreplaceable and fragile resource, vulnerable to damage and destruction through human activity,” Harrison stated. “Like nighthawking on land, the illicit removal of objects from underwater archaeological contexts does much more damage beyond just the loss of an item. All archaeological sites can give us clues and evidence about past events and it is this history that is disturbed and lost when items are removed.”
He added that looting means “part of our national story is lost and can never be replaced, particularly where historic artefacts have been sold for scrap.”
Richard Link of the Crown Prosecution Service noted that while the men were convicted of fraud, their actions also inflicted irreparable damage on a site of significant historical importance.
The sentences reflect the seriousness with which British courts view the unauthorised disturbance of protected wrecks. By removing physical objects from the seabed, the divers did not merely steal metal — they severed tangible links to the sacrifices made by the 44 sailors who perished when HMS Hermes was lost more than a century ago.
This case serves as a stark reminder that wartime wrecks are not forgotten relics ripe for exploitation, but protected war graves and time capsules that continue to tell the story of Britain’s naval history. As authorities and heritage organisations stress, the sea may conceal these treasures, but the law demands they remain undisturbed so future generations can learn from them.