The gates at the entrance to the Strawberry Fields children's home in Liverpool were surrounded by grafitti scrawled by Beatles fans on the gateposts.
Shortly before lunch yesterday two men armed with saws pulled up in a blue Transit van. They hacked through the 10ft square gates and hauled them into the van before driving off.
Edwina Willis, a Beatles tour guide in Liverpool, said she could not believe that the gates had been stolen. "The gates are known the world over," she said. "They are absolutely unique and we want them back. We have people on tours who are on pilgrimages to the city.
"They do not know some of these locations in the songs actually exist and so when they see places like Strawberry Fields they break down and cry."
Paul McCartney's brother Mike said: "This is awful - I hope these people's conscience gets the better of them and they put them back."
