A historic mill which appears on the cover of a Black Sabbath album and in the film The Eagle Has Landed has been vandalised by a group of teenagers.
Thames Valley Police said that ‘significant criminal damage’ had been caused at The Mill in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire at around 5.25pm on Sunday.
A group of five boys and one girl, thought to be be aged between 15 and 16 years old, have been identified by officers. They are thought to come from the Purley area.
The mill building is known for being featured on the cover of heavy metal band Black Sabbath’s self-titled 1970 debut album.
Ozzy Osbourne’s band choose to use a picture of a witchlike model posing in front of Mapledurham Watermill, as their album’s cover.
The foliage has been coloured with a gory red, striking a stark contrast to the idyllic scenes you’ll see if you visit the 15th-century landmark today.
The watermill also appears in a scene of the 1976 film The Eagle Has Landed, when the rescue of a local girl by a German paratrooper results in the unmasking of Steiner and his men.
Thames Valley Police said that ‘significant criminal damage’ had been caused at The Mill in Mapledurham, Oxfordshire at around 5.25pm on Sunday
The mill building is known for being featured on the cover of heavy metal band Black Sabbath’s self-titled 1970 debut album
A group of five boys and one girl, thought to be be aged between 15 and 16 years old, have been identified by officers. They are thought to come from the Purley area. Pictured: The mill following a flood in November 2012
And it features in a season 7 episode of Midsomer Murders, The Fisher King, as the scene for the discovery of a body.
It also appears in the Inspector Morse episode ‘The Day of The Devil’.
Thames Valley Police said in a statement: ‘We are appealing for witnesses following significant criminal damage to The Mill in Mapledurham at approximately 5.25pm on Sunday.
‘A group of youths have been identified believed to be 15-16 years-old, five boys and one girl. They are believed to originate from the Purley area.
‘If you have any information regarding this incident, call us on 101 or make a report on our website, quoting reference number 43220363245.’