Owners of antiques business in Suckley offer £1,000 reward for safe return of stolen bronze lion - The Worcester Observer

Owners of antiques business in Suckley offer £1,000 reward for safe return of stolen bronze lion

Worcester Editorial 30th Nov, 2021 Updated: 30th Nov, 2021   0

THE OWNERS of a Worcestershire antiques business is offering a £1,000 reward for the recovery of a life-size bronze lion statue which was stolen last Thursday.

‘Aslan’, which weighs the same amount as a pony and is worth £9,500, has guarded Holloways Garden Antiques courtyards in Suckley for the past five years.

But last Thursday a gang broke into the family business overnight and lifted the 300kg sculpture over a 6ft spiked metal fence before fleeing with it across fields.




It would have taken at least six people to lift the hefty cat, which is 2.3m long and 1.2m high.

Bought from a private house sale in Leicestershire, Aslan has one paw half raised and dates back to the mid-20th century.


Since 2016, the bronze has cut a striking figure in Holloways courtyards and was much-loved by staff and customers alike.

Edward Holloway, who has run the furniture and antiques business with his wife Diana for the past 30 years, has stumped up £1,000 for information leading to the distinctive lion’s recovery.

He said: “We’re incredibly upset that Holloways has been targeted and that Aslan has been taken.

“We’ve always struggled to move him around our premises and we’re absolutely astonished they managed to lift him over the fence.

“Thursday night was cold, dark and wet, and both Aslan and the ground would have been slippy.

“It would have taken six, maybe more, people to lift him and it’s highly likely they had a 4×4 to get back out across the fields without getting stuck.

“Someone must have seen something. Someone must know something.”

Edward fears it was either stolen to order or may already have been melted down for a fraction of its value.

West Mercia Police are investigating and have urged witnesses or anyone offered the statue or with information on its whereabouts to contact police at westmercia.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/ or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

 

  • The NFU Rural Crime Report 2021 shows theft in the countryside cost the UK an estimated £43.3m last year. The insurer blames ‘skilled and highly-organised criminals’ for the continuing plague on farms and other rural businesses.

 

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