A tracking device may be used to protect the toposcope on the Malvern Hills.

This is one of a number of security measure being considered following the theft of the engraved metal plate from the summit of the Worcestershire Beacon in August.

The toposcope, which maps the surrounding landscape, was itself a replica made after the original was stolen in 2000. It was recovered from a house in Walsall the following year and is now in a secure place.

A new replica will be installed within weeks after repairs were carried out to its metal frame by Barnards Green blacksmith Paul Morgan.

A new glass cover is being made by a firm in Bromsgrove and when this is complete, Mr Morgan and staff from the Malvern Hills Conservators will complete the work.

Ian Rowat, director of the Conservators, said tougher bolts would be used to secure the toposcope and additional measures, including a tracking device, were being considered.

The toposcope was designed by architect Arthur Troyte Griffith, a friend of the composer Elgar and the inspiration for one of his Enigma Variations.

Both men were great lovers of the Malvern Hills.