Stately homes gang snatches £500,000 table

The burglary at Newby Hall, Ripon, is the sixth of its kind in the region since February, with a total of £700,000 in precious items stolen to date.

Security experts believe thieves are using spotters to locate specific artefacts during public open days and passing this information on to criminal associates.

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By targeting just one or two items the gang can escape within minutes, before security guards or police can respond.

Yesterday's theft at the 17th century mansion, the setting for recent ITV drama Mansfield Park, was from the drawing room. The culprits drilled into its thick wooden shutters and took them off their hinges.

They then cut through the sash windows, setting off the alarm. They snatched the Chippendale masterpiece - one of the finest tables made by the 18th century master craftsman - and escaped minutes before the in-house security guard arrived.

Estate owner Richard Compton, 50, his wife Lucinda, a furniture restorer, and son Orlando were asleep upstairs at the time.

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Mr Compton said: "This is very distressing. The table was among the finest pieces of Chippendale in the collection. I just love it. It could not ever be sold, it is too well known. I don't care who stole it. I just want it back as soon as possible."

The twin-leaf Pembroke table is famed for its elegant lines, colour and exquisite inlaid mosaic of rosewood, satin and ebony pieces.

It was commissioned by Mr Compton's ancestor William Weddell in 1775. Experts say it would easily fetch £500,000 on the open market.

Most of the other five break-ins at Yorkshire estates have used similar techniques to drill into security shutters. There have also been two attempted burglaries.

The first theft was from Sir Tatton Sykes' home, Sledmere House, near Driffield, North Yorkshire, in February. Others targeted include Cusworth Hall, near Doncaster, and Burton Agnes Hall, near Driffield.

Charles Hill, former Met Police officer and adviser to the Historic Houses Association, said the crimes were almost certainly linked. "Although not stolen to order, the gang would know other criminals who will take any valuable art and antiques off their hands," he said.

A North Yorkshire police spokesman said it was too early to connect the burglaries.