A MAYOR is set to turn internet sleuth in a bid to solve a daring theft which took place more than 20 years ago.

Coun John Williams, Blackburn with Darwen's mayor for 2001-2002, hopes to use the world wide web to discover what happened to Blackburn's mayoral chains after they were stolen in 1980.

Just days after Coun Frank Gorton had become Blackburn with Darwen's first citizen in May 1980, the chains vanished from their locked room inside Blackburn Town Hall.

The chains worn by both the mayor and mayoress were stolen, along with the one worn by the deputy mayor at the time, Rendall Allen.

They were never recovered, and the case had remained unsolved ever since.

Collectively, the chains were believed to be worth around £150,000 at the time -- and many felt they were shipped out to America where they were collectors' items.

Mayors ever since have had use to the Darwen chains, which were worn by Mayors of Darwen before the town merged with Blackburn.

Coun Williams said: "Quite a few chains had been stolen at the time and it was during a period when people would knock on your door and buy things from your house because there was big demand for English 'antiques' in America.

"The common feeling was that they had been taken to America but of course there was no way of proving that.

"Now, however, we have the internet and I will be looking on there to see if they are listed in any personal collections. I think there is a good chance that they will be on there if they haven't been melted down.

"I don't think they will have been melted down, because as metal they aren't worth that much."

Coun Williams is also planning to get information posted on websites across the states, as well as contacting TV stations to talk about his crusade.

The mayor's chain contained gold, platinum and precious gems. It dated back to 1876, while the Mayoress' was bought by public subscription in 1909.

Her chain was also gold and platinum, and was studded with diamond.

The deputy mayor's chain was oldest of the three - it dated back to 1851 and was called the Hornby Chain.

At around the same time, chains had been stolen from Lancaster and Wakefield. Accrington and South Ribble have also been victims of chain thefts.

Coun Williams said: "I do hope we can get them back. I am writing to my colleagues at other councils to see if similar things happened to them."

Coun Gorton said today: "It was an absolute shock when they were stolen and we did think they had gone to America.

"It would be wonderful to get them back for the town because they do belong here."

At the time, Coun Gorton said: "It is a blow to the dignity of the office."

Security was stepped up following the thefts and the Darwen chains were brought into use as a temporary measure.