Rare gold box back on display at Waddesdon Manor after it was stolen 19 years ago

Watch: Staff at Waddesdon Manor tell ITV News Meridian's Juliette Fletcher the box's return goes some way to repairing the damage that was done years ago

A rare gold box, stolen from Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire nearly 20 years ago, has been returned and is now back on display.

The 18th century French Bonbonniere, a sweetie box, was identified by the Art Loss Register after it came up for sale at an auction house.

It was just one of over a hundred gold boxes and other treasures stolen from the National Trust house in June 2003.

"It felt really horrible at the time," recalls Pippa Shirley, Director of Collections and Gardens, "but having this box come back goes some way towards repairing that in a strange way, because it feels very good that it is coming home at last."

Watch: Five men use a curtain to help carry the haul out of the manor after smashing their way in

Five men, dressed in blue boiler suits ram-raided their way through one of the windows using a scaffolding pole. Once inside, they smashed a glass cabinet containing the precious collection.

Security footage shows them pulling down a curtain to help carry their haul. On the way out some of the items were dropped before being collected up again.

An estimated five million pounds worth of treasures were stolen in just a few minutes. No-one has been convicted for the crime.

Waddesdon Manor was once the ancestral home of the Rothschild family. It is now run by the National Trust, and visitors come from all over the globe to see the collections here.

The find has been reported to Thames Valley Police and it is hoped it may lead to the return of more of the stolen items which make up part of Waddesdon Manor's cultural history.