The Ministry of Defence has been accused of failing to protect historic wartime wrecks after it was disclosed three British warships sunk by the Japanese navy have been broken up and removed by illegal scrap metal scavengers.

Underwater scans of the sea bed off Indonesia have revealed “large holes” where the sunken ships had been.

A preliminary report from an expedition to document sunken ships shows that the wrecks of HMS Exeter, a heavy cruiser, and destroyer HMS Encounter, have been almost totally removed, the Guardian reported.

A 3D map of the Java Sea floor showed the wreck of the destroyer HMS Electra had also been plundered, though a large section remained.

All three were sunk over two days of clashes with the Japanese navy from February 27 to March 1, 1942.