Pair jailed for stealing ‘irreplaceable’ artwork and selling it for scrap

Liam Hughes, 22, and 19-year-old Jason Parker pleaded guilty at St Albans Crown Court last month to stealing a sculpture called Sundial and the bronze plinth of another work from the grounds of the Henry Moore Foundation in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire.

At the same court yesterday, Judge Marie Catterson told them: “You simply didn’t bother to think about the harm that you were causing or the harm that you were risking by your actions.”

Parker will serve his sentence in a young offender institution. The pair are from Coltsfield, Stansted. Essex.

The judge said the men stole Sundial overnight between July 10 and 11 and then returned between July 15 and 16 to steal the plinth of another piece.

The Sundial, worth around £500,000 but which is irreplaceable, was sold to a scrapyard for £46, and the plinth for £182.60.

But following publicity, including a mention on BBC Crimewatch, the scrap merchant notified the police and the items were recovered.

The judge accepted the pair had little, if any, understanding of what they were taking, and were less culpable than someone who stole art to order.

“In my judgment, these actions were utterly selfish thefts. You were selling these items for a pittance, for scrap, regardless of any damage or impact your actions might have on others. You did it because you considered it easy pickings.”

And she added: “You were risking the permanent destruction of items, certainly in the case of the Sundial, which are wholly irreplaceable.

“Having taken the Sundial, you went back a second time to help yourself to a bit more.”

There was no order for compensation or costs