CCTV shows theft of 3,000-year-old gold torc and bracelet from Ely Museum

Police have released CCTV video footage of two people suspected of stealing a Bronze Age golden torc and a gold bracelet from a museum.

Images show two people in hooded tops climbing through a window at Ely Museum in Cambridgeshire in the early hours of Tuesday.

Footage from a second camera shows two people rushing past, then returning in the opposite direction seconds later, one of them apparently carrying a rucksack.

Cambridgeshire Police said the museum was broken into between midnight and 2am on Tuesday and an item called the East Cambridgeshire gold torc was taken, along with a gold bracelet.

The force said both items date from the Bronze Age, and that it was seeking two people seen on e-scooters close to the museum.

The golden torc is believed to have originated from the Bronze age. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Det Insp Kiri Mazur said: “We have released this CCTV, not in the hope someone will recognise the figures, but to try to jog memories and encourage anyone with information to come forward.

“We are focused on identifying the offenders, tracing the items, and returning them to their rightful place and are working closely with staff at Ely Museum to follow all lines of inquiry.

“I am very keen to hear from anyone who may be able to provide information or saw two people on e-scooters in the vicinity of the museum, car park and pedestrian walkways at the back of the museum, the council offices and the Grange Car Park, between 12am and 2am on Tuesday.”

The gold torc, which is a type of jewellery, was purchased by the museum in 2017 for £220,000 using a series of grants and donations from the public.

A gold Bronze Age bracelet was also stolen from Ely Museum. Credit: Cambridgeshire County Council

Elie Hughes, museum curator, said: “We are devastated by the loss to the museum and to the local heritage of the region.

"It is a huge blow after the incredible support from the community in acquiring the torc in 2017.

"As a culturally significant object, it cannot be replaced. Our priority now is working with the police to locate the stolen objects.”

The torc was found in a field near Ely in East Cambridgeshire by detectorists in 2015 and is one of the largest torcs ever found in Britain.

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