The tent and gear were spotted by a walker in Chopwell Wood. Photo: John Darch CC-BY-SA-2.0

The tent and gear were spotted by a walker in Chopwell Wood. Photo: John Darch CC-BY-SA-2.0

Police are appealing for help after the discovery of a tent and camping gear in woods near Gateshead.

Durham Constabulary is trying to find the owner of the mystery camping equipment abandoned in Chopwell Wood, a 360ha (890-acre) area owned by the Forestry Commission.

A dog walker spotted the tent on Saturday and informed officers. A police spokesperson said: “Police located and searched the red, two-man tent which contained a considerable amount of camping equipment including a blue rucksack, clothing, a stove, utensils and a sleeping bag.

“The tent was left in-situ overnight but when no one returned officers seized the equipment and started to try and identify an owner.

“Police search teams assisted by the dog support unit and fell rescue have been conducting searches of the areas surrounding the location of the tent and local officers have conducted house-to-house enquiries with a negative result.”

Inspector Keith Wardle from Consett beat team said: “There is a substantial amount of equipment, most of which we believe is new. Once we started looking through the items it became apparent there was nothing which would identify an owner but we do believe someone must know the person they belong to.

“I would encourage the owner to come forward and we can reunite them with belongings. Anyone with information should call 101 and ask for Consett beat team.”

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