Hunt stepped up for 15th-century Bible

A national investigation into the disappearance of a rare 15th-century Bible from a council's office almost eight years ago was launched yesterday. Auction houses and museums are being asked to look out for the hand-crafted Carbusier Bible, of which only a small number still exist.

The missing Bible, which was printed in 1477 by Bernhard Richel, of Basle in Switzerland, was presented as a gift by a local dignitary to the people of Lanark in 1910. Although there were two Bibles among the volumes donated to the town, one was sold at auction by Sotheby's in 1911 and the other, which was in a poorer condition, was kept by Clydesdale District Council. South Lanarkshire council took over after a local government reorganisation in 1996, but officials could not find the Bible. It was last seen in 1994.

South Lanarkshire council, which claims the book was never in its care, said the volume was only discovered to be missing after a stocktake in 1996 and police were contacted in 1997. Now local councillors have called for the hunt to be extended and are demanding a full investigation into how it went missing.