A DIVER has admitted fraud after selling historic cannon he took from a 17th-century shipwreck in waters off Southend.

Vincent Woolsgrove recovered five cannon from the wreck of the warship London, which sank in 1665 in the estuary, close to where Southend Pier now stands.

Woolsgrove handed two of the guns he salvaged to the Crown, and claimed a salvage award.

However, the 48-year-old commercial diver reported finding three other pieces in international waters, going on to sell them on to an American collector for more than £50,000.

The truth came out after a two-year investigation by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, police and Historic England.

Woolsgrove, from Ramsgate, Kent, appeared at Southampton Crown Court and admitted fraudulently stating he had found the three cannon in international waters.

After the hearing, Sir Alan Massey, chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: “This is an important case and should serve as a deterrent to others. The laws on salvage are very clear and they work well when properly applied. Those tempted to circumvent those rules can expect our close attention.”

Mark Harrison, Historic England’s national policing and crime adviser, added: “This case sets an important precedent in the fight against uncontrolled salvage by a small criminal minority who have no appreciation for England’s maritime heritage.

“Woolsgrove used sophisticated techniques and equipment to remove these valuable artefacts from the sea bed.”

Woolsgrove reported finding the three 24lb bronze guns off North Foreland, Kent.

They were cast in Amsterdam as part of a battery of 36 originally produced in Amsterdam to protect the city in the early 16th century.

They were later assigned to Dutch ships during the first Anglo-Dutch war and captured by the English as prizes, which is how they came to be aboard the London when it exploded in the Thames killing more than 200 sailors.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman said: “This evidence disproved Mr Woolsgrove’s claim he had found them outside territorial waters, when they were, in fact, property of the Crown.

“If he had reported them correctly, he would have been entitled to a substantial salvage reward.”

Woolsgrove is due back in court to be sentenced on September 4.