Thief who stole jade antiques worth £1.7m from Bedfordshire widow ordered to pay compensation

Des Pickersgill and his son Gary were jailed over the theft of antiques. Credit: ITV News Anglia

A man who stole expensive antiques from an elderly widow in Bedfordshire has been ordered to pay back hundreds of thousands of pounds to the victim's family.

Gary Pickersgill, 43 and his father Des, 84, were found guilty of the theft of jade and ivory artefacts from a vulnerable woman who was in her 90s and has since died.

The pair stole antiques from the woman's home in Wilstead near Bedford between November 2011 and May of 2018.

They then brazenly sold them through the reputable London auction house Bonhams for a total of £1.7 million.

Gary Pickersgill, of Saxby Avenue, Skegness, was jailed for eight years and his father Des, of Clyde Crescent, Bedford, was jailed for six years.

Luton Crown Court heard Gary Pickersgill benefitted by £1,928,392 from the thefts.

He has been ordered to pay £208,335 as compensation to the estate of the woman and will face another 30 months in jail if the money is not paid within 6 months.

Jade antiques worth £1.7 million were stolen from an elderly widow who has since died.

Gary Pickersgill's wife Sarah allowed her bank account to be used to launder money.

At an earlier hearing Sarah Pickersgill was ordered to pay £185,000 in compensation to the estate of the victim or face two years in jail.

Friends of the Pickersgills, husband and wife Kevin and Tracy Wigmore, had also helped in the sale of the stolen goods.

Kevin Wigmore’s benefit was found to be £88,279. He was ordered to pay £15,544 in three months or face 10 months in prison.

Tracey Wigmore’s benefit was £7,590, which she was given 28 days to pay or face four months in prison on default.

During the trial last year the jury heard Des Pickersgill had once been the gardener for the victim, who is in her 90s and had served as a Wren in World War Two.

Investigating officer Dave Brecknock, from Beds Police’s Serious Fraud Investigation Unit, said earlier: “I have no doubt that Des and Gary Pickersgill hatched a plan to prey on an elderly and vulnerable victim, steal these precious artefacts and make themselves a small fortune.

“This was a pre-meditated, sly and dastardly criminal conspiracy, which has caused untold worry to the victim and her family, for who I am delighted we have been able to secure some justice.”

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