?75k raid on dead war veteran's Shropshire home ? Shropshire Star

Antiques and heirlooms are among items worth up to ?75,000 which have been stolen from the home of a World War Two veteran who died last year.

The property, near Whitchurch, has been unoccupied for several months and was burgled between September and November last year.

Police say up to 40 items ? including a grandfather clock and a watercolour painting ? with a collective estimated value of between ?50,000 and ?75,000 are missing from the house.

The owner, a former bomber pilot, was a collector of antiques and historical artefacts ? the majority of them local to Shropshire.

Police, who have not released the man?s name for security reasons, have released some images of the distinctive stolen items and Detective Sergeant Andy Chatting of West Mercia Police said most of them, if sold on, would mainly be of interest to people in Shropshire.

?One of the items stolen was a distinctive brass-faced clock, made by Whitchurch clockmaker John Barron and dating from about 1700,? he said.

?There was also a seven foot high grandfather clock made by Callcott of Coton, near Wem, and a watercolour painting of two men ? a Dr John Phillips of Malpas, Cheshire and a chimney-sweep named Edwards Randles, according to an inscribed plaque on the back ? dating from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s.?

Detective Sergeant Chatting added: ?One of the largest items stolen was an old, elaborate oak chest with the initials AP engraved on the front.

?The victim?s family are understandably very distressed at the theft of these heirlooms, as many of them have been in the family for generations, some of them for several centuries. They have a huge amount of sentimental value.?

Anyone offered any of the items for sale, is asked to contact police in Shropshire on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/04/04/75k-raid-on-dead-war-veterans-shropshire-home/

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