A PAIR of antique thieves who travelled all the way from Birmingham to steal £1,000 of antiques from Elsecar have been jailed for up to two years – thanks to an eagle-eyed member of staff.
Joseph Hansard and Theresa Iris Gauntlett from Warstock, Birming-ham, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court last week, to face charges of theft of ceramic items at BBR Auctions, at Elsecar Heritage Centre in March last year.
The thefts first came to lig
ht when staff at BBR Auctions noticed a cabinet was not secure, and items were missing.
Six weeks later, an employee spotted that a 19th Century antique glass bottle missing from the Elsecar showroom was up for sale at an auction house in Birmingham, along with two other ceramic water jugs that had been stolen.
After enquiries at the auction house, Gauntlett was identified as the person selling the goods, while Hansard was picked out in an identity parade by sales staff.
The two also faced charges of stealing £12,000 of jewellery from Bury St Edmunds.
They both pleaded guilty to that charge and had the Elsecar theft taken into consideration. Gauntlett was sentenced to 16 months, while Hansard got 21 months.
An investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act is now also underway, after police seized more than £1,900 of goods that were sold at the auction house.
PC Phil Dunk of Barnsley Police said: "I am very happy with this result.
"These two individuals travelled from Birmingham to Barnsley to commit the crime.
"They stole goods that were worth a considerable amount of money, with no thought of who the property belonged to or what the consequences would be.
"I would like to thank staff at the auction house for assisting the police with our enquiries, and encourage Barnsley folk to keep working with police to bring criminals to justice and keep our communities safe."
