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| Durham University thieves jailed for stealing £2m artefacts then losing them | Durham University thieves jailed for stealing £2m artefacts then losing them |
| (30 days later) | |
| Two inept thieves who stole Chinese artefacts worth £2m from a museum but then could not find where they had stashed them were handed lengthy jail sentences and told the real value of their haul was "immeasurable". | Two inept thieves who stole Chinese artefacts worth £2m from a museum but then could not find where they had stashed them were handed lengthy jail sentences and told the real value of their haul was "immeasurable". |
| Lee Wildman, 36, was jailed for nine years and Adrian Stanton, 33, was handed an eight-year term for planning and carrying out a raid at Durham University's Oriental Museum at Easter. | Lee Wildman, 36, was jailed for nine years and Adrian Stanton, 33, was handed an eight-year term for planning and carrying out a raid at Durham University's Oriental Museum at Easter. |
| They had planned the break-in well, choosing the night before Good Friday when the campus was quiet, using cloned number plates and chiselling a hole through a brick wall to get in and out quickly. | They had planned the break-in well, choosing the night before Good Friday when the campus was quiet, using cloned number plates and chiselling a hole through a brick wall to get in and out quickly. |
| From the display cabinets, they picked out just two items – a 1769 jade bowl and a porcelain figurine – worth up to £2m, Judge Christopher Prince told them. But their plan was flawed because after hiding the items on wasteland, Wildman could not find them when he returned two days later. | From the display cabinets, they picked out just two items – a 1769 jade bowl and a porcelain figurine – worth up to £2m, Judge Christopher Prince told them. But their plan was flawed because after hiding the items on wasteland, Wildman could not find them when he returned two days later. |
| He was seen by a witness searching the plot, speaking in an agitated manner on his mobile, as the light faded. | He was seen by a witness searching the plot, speaking in an agitated manner on his mobile, as the light faded. |
| Judge Prince told the defendants they had shown "crass ineptitude" in being unable to find their haul. "Thank heavens you could not, because they may have been lost," he said. | Judge Prince told the defendants they had shown "crass ineptitude" in being unable to find their haul. "Thank heavens you could not, because they may have been lost," he said. |
| Just weeks before, the pair from Walsall had received suspended sentences for a night-time break-in at an amusement arcade in Rhyl, where they cut a hole in a roof and broke into slot machines. On that occasion police stopped their car on the way back to the Midlands, and found more than £10,000 in coins. | Just weeks before, the pair from Walsall had received suspended sentences for a night-time break-in at an amusement arcade in Rhyl, where they cut a hole in a roof and broke into slot machines. On that occasion police stopped their car on the way back to the Midlands, and found more than £10,000 in coins. |
| That was in their minds when they decided to hide the Chinese artefacts and collect them later, the judge said. | That was in their minds when they decided to hide the Chinese artefacts and collect them later, the judge said. |
| Both men had shown no remorse and had told "transparent" lies during a two-day hearing at Durham crown court in which they tried to play down their roles in the burglary, the judge said. | Both men had shown no remorse and had told "transparent" lies during a two-day hearing at Durham crown court in which they tried to play down their roles in the burglary, the judge said. |
| It was hard to put a price on the items, he said, adding: "The financial value of artefacts such as these is perhaps the very least important factor. These items have got a historical, cultural and artistic value that is quite simply immeasurable. | It was hard to put a price on the items, he said, adding: "The financial value of artefacts such as these is perhaps the very least important factor. These items have got a historical, cultural and artistic value that is quite simply immeasurable. |
| "Their loss has had the most enormous detrimental effect on the university, both in expenditure they have had to make in improving their security and in the loss of potential confidence from benefactors." | "Their loss has had the most enormous detrimental effect on the university, both in expenditure they have had to make in improving their security and in the loss of potential confidence from benefactors." |
| The items were found after a fingertip search of the wasteland after a witness who read some of the widespread publicity about the case realised she had seen Wildman in the area. | The items were found after a fingertip search of the wasteland after a witness who read some of the widespread publicity about the case realised she had seen Wildman in the area. |
| Four others who helped the offenders while they tried to hide from police will be sentenced later. | Four others who helped the offenders while they tried to hide from police will be sentenced later. |
| A week before the break-in, Wildman and Stanton were caught on the museum's CCTV, testing security during a visit within opening hours. When Wildman was shown the footage later, he told detectives: "It's not a crime to visit a museum." | A week before the break-in, Wildman and Stanton were caught on the museum's CCTV, testing security during a visit within opening hours. When Wildman was shown the footage later, he told detectives: "It's not a crime to visit a museum." |
| Both men were to be paid a "fixed reward" for stealing the items, which was nothing like their real market value, Ben Williams, defending both men, said. | Both men were to be paid a "fixed reward" for stealing the items, which was nothing like their real market value, Ben Williams, defending both men, said. |
| The pair have lengthy criminal records stretching to when they were juveniles, the court heard. | The pair have lengthy criminal records stretching to when they were juveniles, the court heard. |
| When Wildman and Stanton were arrested with their girlfriends and an accomplice at a Walsall hotel, Wildman was found to have £5,746 in cash and Stanton £4,930. | When Wildman and Stanton were arrested with their girlfriends and an accomplice at a Walsall hotel, Wildman was found to have £5,746 in cash and Stanton £4,930. |
| Peter Makepeace, prosecuting, praised the media for publicising the theft, which led to a flurry of vital information from the public. | Peter Makepeace, prosecuting, praised the media for publicising the theft, which led to a flurry of vital information from the public. |
| "It is right to say that local press coverage in particular was very useful because witnesses were able to make identifications from photographs that had been published," he said, adding that the raiders were probably not acting alone and were carrying out the thefts "to order". | "It is right to say that local press coverage in particular was very useful because witnesses were able to make identifications from photographs that had been published," he said, adding that the raiders were probably not acting alone and were carrying out the thefts "to order". |
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