A REWARD is being offered for the return of a huge spanner that has gone missing from Medway's first outlet centre which opened for business on Wednesday (Trevor Sturgess writes).

The six-hundredweight monster that took at least two men to lift was uncovered during groundbreaking work at the Chatham Maritime site.

The rusting spanner was one of several interesting finds during construction, including five wartime air raid shelters, some cannonballs and an old cannon barrel.

Bosses had hoped to restore the giant tool and put it on display in the outlet centre as another reminder of the retail complex’s dockyard origins.

But the spanner, which was displayed in the site office of main contractor Galliford Try, mysteriously disappeared during a site office move. A company source admitted it was partly to blame for not securing the spanner properly but it had not been considered a risk.

Dockyard workers had originally used the spanner to shift a railway engine turntable.

“I’m sure we and the centre management will offer a reward,” said Guy Shepherd, project manager for Galliford Try. “It would be very nice to get it back. I am sure there is not another one like it in the country.”

He had this message for anyone who knows its whereabouts: “Please give it back." Mr Shepherd can be contacted on 01634 899380.