Charges made in two museum theft cases

Two suspects have been charged in connection with the theft of 18 Chinese hardstone carvings worth millions of pounds from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge on April 13.

An appeal had been shown on BBC's Crimewatch on Tuesday, May 1.

Then on Friday police said Patrick Kiely, 28, of Eleanor Street, London, and a 15-year-old boy from London had been charged with theft and conspiracy to commit burglary. They were due to appear at Cambridge Magistrate's Court on the same day.

Meanwhile, charges have been made in connection with an April 5 break-in at the Oriental Museum at Durham University in which two Chinese Qing dynasty works of art valued at £1.8m were taken.

Four people were due to appear before Peterlee magistrates on Thursday (May 3). Adrian Stanton, aged 32 and Justin Clarke, 31, have both been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary while Charmaine Wilkes, aged 27, and 19-year-old Fallon Arrowsmith are charged with assisting an offender.

Stanton, Wilkes and Arrowsmith were arrested in the Walsall area on Tuesday night (May 1) while Clarke handed himself into police after his photo was shown on Crimewatch earlier this week.

Another man arrested on Tuesday, May 1, 35-year-old Lee Wildman, appeared at Peterlee magistrates court on Thursday charged with conspiracy to commit burglary. He was remanded in custody to appear at Durham Crown Court next week.

The items taken were recovered eight days after the break-in, found in a field on the outskirts of Durham.

Police say although no formal link has been made between the Durham and Cambridge burglaries they are keeping an open mind.

Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 if you have any information.

Lord Nelson Theft

CCTV images of suspected thieves who made off with a Lord Nelson mourning ring from Norwich Castle Museum have now been released.

An off-duty Norfolk officer who was visiting the Norwich museum on February 25 noticed a display cabinet was open.

It was discovered that several Nelson-related objects had been taken. The enamelled gold mourning ring bearing the letters N and B was in a leather box dated 1805, but the box was left behind. Police say the ring is valued at £25,000, but one fetched £12,000 at Bonhams in March 2010.

Bonhams said 58 of the rings were made by John Salter, a jeweller on the Strand, London, following Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and distributed by the executors of Nelson's will to relatives, close friends and pall bearers and were worn at the funeral.

The other Nelson-related items taken were a saucer from a tea service from his home, made in about 1802, and worth about £10,000 according to police, and two bronze medallions and a gilt-metal box containing four more commemorative medals celebrating naval victories.

Anyone with information should call Norfolk police on 01953 424242. 

Spencer Stolen

A Sir Stanley Spencer painting has been stolen from the gallery bearing his name in the village where he lived.

At just before 1am on Sunday, April 4, a window was smashed at the Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham High Street and Cookham from Englefield (dated 1948) seized. It is privately owned and had been loaned to the gallery. 

If you can help, call Det Con Iain Watkinson via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

Burglary at Chavenage House

A George II simulated tortoiseshell bracket clock and a Regency elm and rosewood parquetry games table, c.1820, were among several items taken in a burglary at Chavenage House, Gloucestershire, between 9-11pm on Thursday, April 26.

Raid in Bath

Late last month the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath was targeted by raiders who fled empty-handed when an alarm sounded.