Two arrests after statues stolen from rural manor

Two men have been arrested after four statues were stolen from the garden of a country house.

- George Lithgow

Suspects broke into Grade II-star-listed Ilford Manor, near Bradford-on-Avon, in an overnight raid last week, Wiltshire Police said.

The Manor, which is owned by William and Marianne Cartwright-Hignett and has gardens open to the public, said the loss of their copy of the Capitoline She-Wolf was a particularly sad loss.

The bronze, which has “overlooked the valley for over 120 years”, depicts a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome, and was at the “heart” of the estate’s tranquil setting.