THE race is on to try and bring ‘irreplaceable’ bronze cannons to back to Southend, after they found their way to America.

The 17th century firepower, discovered in the London shipwreck, were plundered by Vincent Woolsgrove, who illegally salvaged them and sold them to a collector in Florida.

Mr Woolsgrove was jailed earlier this month for conning the authorities, but now Southend Council has begun the hunt for them.

The American collector has been informed he legally has to return them, but the authority will have to shell out a hefty sum to bring them back to the borough.

And it only has two years to complete the transaction, with a rival museum in Leeds also interested in purchasing the guns.

The authority’s cabinet is expected to push through plans to make available £56,000 of taxpayers’ cash to pay the overseas collector off, and try to get a grant for the expenditure later on down the line.

Luisa Hagle, assistant curator at Southend Museum, admitted it would be tough to get grant money for the guns, but the aspiration is to have them housed in a special London exhibition in the proposed new seafront museum.

She said: “A lot of people in Southend are proud of their heritage and these hold a lot of historical significance.

“We would be keen to get them back and restore them for the people of Southend, and from an ethical point of view, it would be great to keep the whole collection together and give them the best possible environment and storage.”

Woolsgrove, of Kent, found the three bronze canons in the shipwreck in 2007, which exploded in the Estuary off Southend in 1665.

He claimed he found them off the coast in Kent.

It was initially feared they would never be found, but the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has opened discussions with the US Embassy over their return.

Legally, they belong to both Southend Council and the Southend Museums Service.

Relics from the ship are currently being conserved by Historic England to be returned to the council later on.

Steve Ellis, who was part of the team that helped salvage the London’s wreckage, said: “Because the rest of the gun carriage was brought up, it would be nice to have the cannons to go with it.”

Lib Dem Graham Longley, cabinet member for tourism at the authority, said:: “The wreck of the London is of major historical importance and the items recovered from it will become a key visitor attraction when they are displayed in the town.

“This is why it is essential for us to ensure that the cannons – which are the only ones of their kind known to be in existence – remain here in Southend to become a crucial part of this exhibition.”

The council’s cabinet meets next Tuesday. (Sept 22)