Police have defended their investigation into the theft of a valuable bronze sculpture from an artist’s home last month. The art work has a manufacturing value of about £20,000, and a sale price of about £60,000.
Anne Curry told the PA news agency on Saturday she returned home from a funeral service on the evening of December 6 to find one of her artworks, La Promesse – an imposing bronze sculpture of an iris flower weighing about 350kg – had vanished from her garden in Arkesden, Saffron Walden, Essex.
The 82-year-old artist, who is famous for her garden sculptures and portraits, including a bronze bust of Sir John Major that she made for the House of Commons, criticised Essex Police for her three-week wait for an officer to visit her home. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
But an Essex Police spokesman said today that officers had made “four efforts to contact Dr Curry to arrange a visit throughout December, which had unfortunately gone unanswered”.
He told PA it was “accurate” to say Dr Curry was not visited until December 27. Essex Police released a witness appeal on Saturday for anyone with relevant information regarding the theft of La Promesse to come forward and assist the ongoing investigation.