As dawn broke over the steeply shelving shingle banks of Branscombe beach in South Devon yesterday, a motley procession of figures emerged from the gloom, struggling with heavy loads.

One was bowed under a complete stainless steel car exhaust system, another clutched a brand new headlight housing for a BMW. A man struggled with two large bin bags of disposable nappies, while others dragged sacks of shoes and perfume. A tractor laden with car gearboxes, two large oak barrels and a silver BMW motorcycle made its way up the beach. Not since Whisky Galore has there been such a scramble for salvage. The procession continued through the day as though carried by a column of ants.

The great Devon takeaway began when 105 containers were washed off a stricken cargo ship run aground on a shingle bank a mile offshore. About 40 washed ashore at Branscombe, where they broke open in the waves and deposited their contents on the beach.

The MSC Napoli’s cargo would put a hypermarket to shame. The containers, loaded in Antwerp and destined for ports around the world, contained motorcycles, cars, tractors, veterinary supplies, toys, Polish bibles, televisions, cosmetics, thousands of children’s plastic bowls and clothing. Debris littered the shore as far as the eye could see.

During the night about 200 people ignored appeals by the police to stay away, and helped themselves. Craig Marsh, 23, Tom Stapley, 21 and Hector Bird, 33, had arrived at 10pm to watch the salvage operation and ended up going home with a new BMW K1200GT motorcycle worth £12,000.

The bike was one of about 50 liberated from one of the containers by locals with bolt cutters. The machines had been packed in their cardboard shipping crates along with keys, papers and sufficient fuel to get them off the beach, though not without a struggle. More of the ship’s cargo, rolls of cloth, were laid on the shingle to help them to get a grip.

Mr Marsh, a website designer, Mr Stapley, a Royal Marine, and Mr Bird, a gardener, had one small problem that prevented them from following the procession of shiny new bikes up the hill from the beach. While their backs were turned, someone had stolen the front wheel.

Mr Marsh said: “We just came down to do a bit of sightseeing, not looking for salvage. We have a friend coming down with a van then we will do it up and decide what to do with it.” The handful of police officers patrolling the beach made no attempt to stop people removing goods as long as they had filled out a form giving their details and those of their loot for the official Receiver of Wreck, Sophia Exelby.

Miss Exelby said: “All of the items remain the property of the owners. If people have already taken things they need to fill out a form. It is a legal obligation. If they do not fill out a form and just remove goods it is theft, pure and simple.”

Legal complications did not worry builder Gareth Topping, 32, from Sidmouth, who helped himself to a R1200RT BMW motorcycle worth £9,095. He said: “I saw about 30 BMW bikes all boxed up in pretty good nick. Police gave us the go-ahead and we just started to search through things. There must have been 300 people down here doing the same.

“I did fill out a form and was told if the shipping firm doesn’t try to get it back within a year it is mine.”

Eight men stood around a pallet laden with 12 new BMW gearboxes worth at least £1,800 each. Each had taken two men to carry a few yards up the beach, but the car park was still half a mile away. They eventually decided to call on a fisherman to collect them in his boat.

Besides commercial goods there were crates of personal possessions. One had the names “Anita and Jan Bokdal, Cape Town” written in marker pen on the side. Inside, a scavenger burrowed through the Bokdals’ belongings, passing out waterlogged clothes and brass ornaments.

Michael Wheeler, who was lining them up on top of the container, said: “We’ll take anything that’s worth money. There was a good quality tea set but unfortunately a couple of the cups got broken. I don’t feel bad. It’s only going back in the sea if we don’t take it.”

Last night, the Bokdals, contacted in Cape Town by The Times, said they had been shipping goods worth €200,000 (£130,000) there from Sweden, including family heirlooms and sports equipment.

“It’s very, very sad,” Mr Bokdal said. “We didn’t have that much insurance. We’ve lost paintings, carpets, a smoking table which belonged to my mother. We had bought lots of new sports equipment and clothes, some of which we were going to give to the poor here in Cape Town. My wife and I fill boxes and go door to door.”

Back at Branscombe beach, security guards hired by the insurers were on their way to prevent any more items being taken. The greatest free-for-all since the glory days of Devon’s 18th-century wreckers was coming to an end.

The law on salvage

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