The Marie Theresa of Genoa, Nicola Bozza master, left Newcastle for her home port with 850 tons of coal in late November 1872. On the 4th of December, when fifteen miles west of Start Point, a green light appeared on her starboard bow. This vessel then altered course directly towards the Italian until both sidelights were clearly visable. Shortly afterwards, she struck the Marie Theresa a terrific blow on her port side, cutting her planking down to the waterline, then backed off and sailed away. In imminent danger of foundering, the brig was headed inshore and beached one mile east of the signal station, where she borke up very quickly. Fortunatelyno lives were lost amongst the crew of twelve. all of whom landed on Lannacombe beach in their own boat. A few sails were all that was officially recovered from the wreck itself, although the locals slept a lot warmer that winter. If you dig in the right place in Lannacombe beach it is possible to find the coal dust left from the wreck.

Seemingly, that was the end of the incident, but what was to follow must surely be unique in wreck history. The Italian crew of the brig were quartered overnight at an East Prawle inn and gave no trouble until next morning, when, for reasons unknown, they began to quarrel among themselves. One of the seamen then went berserk and stabbed three of his shipmates. With no policeman in the village, the only authority the landlord could could look to, was the Coastguard. When eventually one of them arrived in uniform, the half-crazed seaman mistook him for the law and fled towards the coastguard cottages. The duty officer in the station opened the door in answer to his knock, only to be violently assaulted and stabbed five times in the chest. His wife attracted by her husband's shouts, was also stabbed three times, and another officer and his wife fourteen times between them. As the assailant left the building, he was confronted by the chief boatman and another officer, both of them armed with cutlasses. They too were attacked, whereupon the senior of them drew his cutlass and, choosing his moment, felled the Italian with a single blow form which he later died.

from Devon Shipwrecks, by Richard Larn