As police attempted to bring order to Branscombe beach yesterday, the original owners of looted possessions were plotting how to regain their goods — some of which have already turned up on eBay.

After hundreds of people had ransacked containers washed up from the stricken cargo vessel MSC Napoli, the beach was closed to stop the previous days’ chaotic scenes. Officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency described looters who carried off hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of goods, from motorcycles to nappies, as “despicable”.

By opening the containers they had made the clean-up operation “800 per cent” more difficult, they said.

BMW, which had components and motorcycles on board the Napoli, has appointed a recovery agency to track down missing goods. Yesterday dozens of new BMW parts were popping up for sale in the Devon area. Some sellers were advertising that the items had come from Branscombe beach.

An eBay spokeswoman said that the site removed items only if there had been a specific complaint from police, but could not confirm if one had been received.

BMW had been shipping 77 containers from Germany to a South African assembly plant; the company says it does not know how many of the containers have been lost. A spokeswoman said: “We will have to wait until we can start salvaging to see what has gone overboard.” She added that the company was fully insured and would not suffer any costs as a result of losses or the recovery of goods. The value of the shipment was in the “low single- digit millions of euros”. The cargo included 39 motorcycles worth up to £15,000 each.

More people headed for Branscombe beach overnight, but they met a very different scene from the free-for-all of previous days. The narrow lanes were lined with flatbed trucks and vans rented as far away as Manchester and Liverpool.

Most were forced to abandon their vehicles miles from the beach and walk through the police cordon, only to end up cold, bedraggled and exhausted facing a long walk back up the hill with goods they could barely carry. After two days of high tides and scavenging most of what was left on the beach was smashed, worthless or impossible to shift. Girls dug with their hands under layers of ruined polystyrene lining, hoping to find more of the Estée Lauder and Lancôme cosmetics that had spilt from one container.

Now that the containers have been secured, anyone removing items will be warned that they are stealing. Those who have already taken goods have 28 days to declare them or face prosecution under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Anyone trying to sell what they have taken from the beach on eBay could be prosecuted for handling stolen goods.

John Williams, 40, was close to collapse after rolling a new BMW gearbox along the beach inside an oak wine barrel. He had to stop half a mile short of the road suffering from exhaustion. He said: “It is very tiring taking it across the pebbles and I have no idea how I will make the three miles up the hill to the car. The container full of cosmetics is empty. I got the last thing in it which was a tub of rejuvenating cream. I really need that now.”

There was good news for one couple who feared that they had lost a crate of personal possessions, including irreplaceable family heirlooms and goods intended for charity. As reported in The Times yesterday, Jan and Anita Bokdal were shocked to see television footage of people rifling through their belongings. But the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said that a member of the public had returned Anita Bokdal’s items.

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