[MSN] U.K. A blind elderly widow has been left devastated after thieves stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of rare antiques and paintings from her home, police said yesterday.

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Antiques worth thousands of pounds stolen from blind widow

JULIA HORTON October 11 2007 
A blind elderly widow has been left devastated after thieves stole tens of
thousands of pounds worth of rare antiques and paintings from her home,
police said yesterday.

A £10,000 grandfather clock and five paintings, including two watercolours
by Scottish Colourist Samuel Peploe's son, were among the haul of around 20
items taken in the raid on the 89-year-old's terraced house in Edinburgh.
Police believe the housebreakers probably targeted the house in Minto
Street, Newington, deliberately, striking in daylight and possibly on more
than one occasion in the hope that passers-by would mistake them for removal
men as they entered the property through the back garden.

The frail victim - who had recently moved out of her three-storey home
because it was too big for her to manage alone - is distraught at the loss
of the heirlooms which have been in her family for generations.

advertisementHer son discovered the break-in on Monday when he checked on
the property, which police believe was raided within the last week, although
it could have been up to 11 days earlier.

Shocked neighbours in the attractive street, which is lined with large
townhouses, many of which are B&Bs, said they hadn't noticed anything
suspicious. Police described the raid as "unusual" and officers are
appealing to anyone who thinks they saw anything odd to contact them as soon
as possible.

DC Ben Leathes, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "A lot of the items
taken have great sentimental value and family history attached to them, and
the lady is understandably distressed.

"The amount of items and the size of items taken indicates that they the
thieves had transport, either a van or bigger, and they may have potentially
visited twice.

"I would imagine it was carried out during the day because it would have
drawn more attention to them if they came at night, going though the back
garden. They would also need light to see as they manoeuvred the furniture
out.

"It would not be unusual to see a removal van in the area. There's a good
chance that someone saw something. The area is filled with B&Bs, so there
are a lot of people coming and going."

Referring to the five-figure sum which police believe to be the total worth
of the stolen goods, he added: "It is certainly unusual. In most
housebreakings you are unfortunate if you lose £1000 of stuff, and it is
mostly electrical goods which are easy to resell and difficult to trace
which are taken.

"The items taken here are very unusual, and the high value is very unusual."

The most valuable items taken were two distinctive dark mahogany chairs, one
with a scene from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist carved into its back, the
other featuring a Rob Roy-like scene, thought to be worth more than £10,000.

Both the Denis Peploe paintings were sea views, while the three other
pictures were gilt-framed oil paintings of country scenes, including one of
a cornfield, marked Fraser.

The 7ft 19th century grandfather clock had a silver face with black Roman
numerals. A 19th century mantlepiece clock which was also stolen featured a
foot-tall black eagle on its top. Two silver teapots, a 3ft revolving
bookcase and three wooden tables were taken as well.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "I haven't heard anything
about this, but it is quite concerning."

A police search and recovery team will be contacting antique dealers and
registering the items as stolen at auction houses and on websites.

Anyone with any information should contact Lothian and Borders Police on
0131 311 3131, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/