This 16th-century cannon that is believed to have been sent by King Philip II of Spain to fight the English in 1596 as part of the Spanish Armada has been recovered after it was looted from the sea floor a day after it was discovered.

The 425-year-old bronze cannon was among three that were discovered by shellfish gatherers in Punta de Espineirido in the province of A Coruna in the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia on 14th April, according to an official report by the Spanish Civil Guard from 5th May.

Members of the local government Xunta de Galicia went to collect the cannons with the help of the Spanish Navy but were surprised when they only found two instead of three.

Agents from the Spanish Civil Guard managed to identify some suspects who were spotted stealing the 16th-century cannon while it was still submerged by using local camera footage from the region.

According to the official report, investigators used the security footage to start the ball rolling and then contradicting statements from the people on the footage which allowed them to identify seven suspects in total, five men and two women, who have not been named.

They now face charges for crimes against the national heritage, but there have been no reports on the sanctions they face if they are found guilty.

The authorities were able to reclaim the canon.

The report said: “It is suspected that the despoliation was done as a personal treat for one of the people that was investigated, who thought the cannon would be a good decorative piece.”

The Civil Guard was critical of such behaviour saying: “[The cannon’s] biggest importance is in the historical and archaeological information it gives, which is lost when the piece is removed from its context and location, often irreparably damaging the sub-aquatic bed where it was found.”

Further testing will help confirm the age and origin of the historical items, but experts believe the bronze cannons were sent by the Spanish King Felipe II to fight the English in 1596.

The recovered cannon was moved to the Museo do Mar museum in the Galician city of Vigo where experts have already started their tireless work to restore it.

The report said: “They will try to put back together the ‘puzzle’ of where the cannon came from along with the other two that were found initially, which will surely provide information of great historical value.”