Justice for gang who stored £5m stolen haul from stately homes

The three men who teamed up to store the stolen antiques, valued at £5m and described as “true pieces of British heritage”, have admitted their guilt after the complex inquiry which was overseen by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Carl Rutter, 46, from Wakefield, Darren Webster, 45, from Leeds, and Brian Eaton, 69, from Barnsley, will be sentenced in four weeks after admitting conspiring to handle stolen antiques.

Webster and Eaton both pleaded guilty in August last year, but 
they could only be sentenced once Rutter had admitted the charge at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

The head of regional intelligence, Detective Superintendent Steve Waite, said: “We were immensely pleased and proud back in September 2011 to have recovered these high value antiques which were described as true pieces of British heritage.

“Today’s plea brings this absolutely fantastic case one step closer to its conclusion.

“It’s a great result for both the officers involved and the stately homes that were affected by these thefts.”

The 14 items, which were 
recovered from Eaton and 
Webster’s home addresses, were stolen from stately homes 
including Newby Hall, the 
North Yorkshire property 
which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and is home to a prized collection of Chippendale furniture as well as Gobelins tapestries.

Other properties which were targeted included another in North Yorkshire, Sion Hill, one of the last Edwardian country houses to be built in the region prior to the First World War, as well as Firle Place in Sussex, which dates from the late 15th century.

Among the valuables were a George III Pembroke Chippendale drop leaf table thought to be worth £500,000 and two Louis XVI vases and bases valued at £950,000.

They were recovered by the Regional Organised Crime Unit in 2011 after the year-long investigation, which also involved officers from police forces covering West, North and South Yorkshire, as well as the Regional Roads Crime Team.

Rutter, who was described by officers as “a significant conspirator”, had overall possession of a haul of the stolen antiques which had been stored on his behalf with a view to being sold later.

Eaton and Webster also had a large number of the antiques, some stored at Eaton’s home address. Webster was seen as the “lead conspirator” while Eaton was responsible for introducing prospective buyers of the antiques to Webster and Rutter.

The Regional Organised Crime Unit was established in 2010 and – together with the Regional Roads Crime Team – has taken in excess of £30m from criminal enterprises across Yorkshire and the Humber.