大象传媒

Art theft

"There's an increase in art theft and allied crimes聟" Graham Saltmarsh

Whether it's a family heirloom, treasured antique or an investment piece, most homes have one or two ornaments that are worth a bob or two.

But Inside Out has discovered that there are people out there who are targeting the possessions we value most.

These days antiques and pricey ornaments are fast replacing DVDs and televisions as a favourite take-away for burglars and thieves.

They're easily accessible and on display, lovingly decorating our family homes.

Treasured possessions

James McInroy kept his treasured grandfather clock and rosewood games table in the hallway of his Tunbridge Wells home - until he was burgled.

The grandfather clock had been in the family for 200 years.

Expert Graham Saltmarsh has a nose for hot property

Thieves left behind electronic items in favour of his high value antiques.

And though the items were insured James says their sentimental value can never be replaced:

"You feel as though you're the guardian of these assets for your lifetime - I wanted to pass them on to my children as they were passed on to me."

Andy Blyth owns a country pub at Hawkhurst in Kent.

He put his beloved 拢8,000 bronze statue on the pub's terrace for customers to enjoy.

What he didn't bank on was the heavy sculpture disappearing overnight - once again, art thieves were to blame.

Hot property

Graham Saltmarsh is an antiques enthusiast and has a nose for hot property.

A former senior Scotland Yard Detective Officer, Graham now runs a successful art risk consultancy business:

"There's an increase in art theft and allied crimes around it聟 in the South East there a developing and particular problem.

"With a lot of outward investment from London and large city bonuses聟 there are great opportunity for thieves."

These days, thieves aren't just targeting individual's homes.

They're honing their attentions to historic houses and stealing from stately homes - many being untapped Aladdin's caves.

Thomas Cromwell - prized painting stolen from Hever

Hever Castle is home to some of Kent and the country's most treasured possessions and our historic inheritance.

But heritage has a price tag and when Hever fell prey to burglars some of that was lost.

Five of their most prized historic artefacts were stolen including a miniature locket containing a piece of Mary Queen of Scot's hair and a miniature of Thomas Cromwell painted by court artist Hans Holbein.

Some items were retrieved but not the Holbein - the staff were devastated.

Since the theft there's been no information on the missing items, and Hever has stepped-up its security.

Graham Saltmarsh is trying to find out more about the robbery:

"It's not unusual for a piece to go missing for five or six years and then to be offered back to the insurer or the loser through a middleman."

Creative theft

Last year in a historic home in Doncaster Graham investigated his most creative theft to date.

A wedding was held which turned out to be one big hoax, as Graham explains:

Virtual Bumblebee offers a chance to trace stolen property

"The whole wedding was a hoax - the bride, groom, all the guests they were there for a sole purpose and that was to literally steal everything they could get their hands on."

Being a victim of theft is a frightening and disturbing experience, and recovering cherished belongings is often remote.

Sussex Police are tacking just that - they post recovered stolen antiques on an internet site called virtual bumblebee.

Tom Wills says, "We seize all sorts of things聟 People can log on to the site and see all these items - items that we can't return to their rightful owners because we simply don't know who they are.

"But as you can see behind me there are still heaps of unclaimed articles here."

Sentimental value

In summer 2006 Sandra Cantlay's house in Sevenoaks was burgled in broad daylight.

Many of the stolen items were irreplaceable and of great sentimental value.

Sandra is trying to find the lost items with the help of officers at Warlingham police station in Surrey.

She's trying to find out whether the items she spotted on virtual bumblebee were the treasured pieces stolen from her home in Kent.

"These are mine. I can't believe it聟it's incredible. I never thought I would get them back.... Virtual bumblebee is an excellent idea."

The website is also giving James and fellow victims of crime some hope that they might see their prize possessions again.

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