Easter Island’s indigenous community want the British Museum to return a unique Moai statue that was taken from them 150 years ago and given to Queen Victoria as a gift.

The 2.4-metre tall Hoa Hakananai’a sculpture was allegedly removed by Richard Powell, captain of HMS Topaze, in 1868 and Queen Victoria later gave it to the British Museum.

Now the Rapa Nui authorities have requested the Chilean government help them retrieve the carved statue, which is made from basalt, to the UNESCO World Heritage Site that lies approximately 2,000 miles from the coast of mainland Chile.

However, the British Museum told The Daily Telegraph that they believe there is “a great public benefit” in keeping the statue in the museum.  

The dispute comes as the British Museum faces numerous other claims that they should return artefacts to the countries they originate from, including the Elgin Marbles to Greece and the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, which were taken by British forces in 1897.

Easter Island’s Rapa Nui community believe that the Moai statues emit a "mana" spiritual force that protects their tribe.

Local leaders said that retrieving the stolen statue would be "an important symbol in closing the sad chapter” of European navigators violating their rights when they travelled there during the 19th century.

There are 900 giant statues on the Island, most of which were carved from volcanic ash between the sixth and 17th centuries.

But the Hoa Hakananai’a, which means "the stolen or hidden friend" in the island’s indigenous language, is unique because of its basalt composition.

The tribe built the Moai statues to honour important chiefs when they passed away and were carved with different characteristics to keep the appearance of the person it represented.

A spokeswoman for the British Museum said: “We have received no official request here at the British Museum for the statue to be returned to Easter Island.

“The Moai sculpture that we have in the museum is on permanent display to the six million people who walk through our doors every year and we think there is a great public benefit to keeping it here for all of those people to see and appreciate.

“We also believe it is important to represent the history of Easter Island’s indigenous community in the British Museum.”

The Rapa Nui population have recently taken over the conservation of their archeological heritage, which involves attempting to recover priceless artefacts they say were illegally taken, including another Moai residing in a museum in Paris.

Chile’s National Treasures Minister Felipe Ward said the request for the British Museum to return the statue "seems appropriate given the new coordination and conservation functions being carried out on the island.”