[MSN] UK. £45,000 Ringley sketch part of Lowry haul

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

£45,000 Ringley sketch part of Lowry haul3

A SKETCH of Ringley Village by LS Lowry has been stolen in an armed robbery.

Masked raiders tied up art dealer Ivan Aird and threatened to kill his 
two-year-old daughter before making off with ten Lowry paintings and 
sketches, believed to be worth more than £1.4 million. The scene at 
Ringley alone is worth £45,000 Mr Aird's wife, Louise, opened the door 
of their home in Cheadle Heath, Stockport, at 7.50am last Thursday to 
what she believed was the postman, only for three men to rush in and 
overpower the couple and threaten them with a large knife as Mrs Aird 
held daughter Sabrina in her arms.

Among the paintings stolen were The Viaduct', valued at in excess of 
£700,000, The Tanker Entering the Tyne', worth between £500,000 and 
£600,000, and the unique The Artist's Palette and Paintbrushes.' 
Detectives investigating the robbery say the offenders knew exactly what 
they were looking for.

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Reid from Stockport CID said: "The 
brutality these men showed to the Aird family was horrific. They may not 
have physically harmed them but they were left extremely shaken by the 
whole ordeal.

"This would appear to be a targeted attack by burglars who knew exactly 
what they were looking for. They must have known Mr Aird was an art 
collector and that he would have the paintings in the house. These 
paintings are extremely valuable to collectors but someone would have to 
know the right people to sell them on to."

One of the offenders is described as white, in his 30s, with a round 
face and was wearing a fluorescent jacket. Another of the men is 
described as mixed race and the third was wearing a balaclava. All three 
men spoke with local accents.

4:31pm Tuesday 8th May 2007

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk