Rare bust of Winston Churchill stolen from Arundel antique shop

A rare bust of Winston Churchill has been stolen from a family-run antique shop in Arundel.
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The owners of Betulas Antiques in Queen Street first noticed the bronze likeness missing from their shop at about 11.30am yesterday (Tuesday, September 7).

Charlie Gascoigne, whose wife owns the shop, was helping out at the time of the theft.

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Mr Gascoigne described the anger he felt when the sculpture, which was priced at £495, disappeared from the shop.

The rare bust of Winston ChurchillThe rare bust of Winston Churchill
The rare bust of Winston Churchill

He said: "We had some people in at the counter looking at other stuff and this chap came in with a bag on. We didn't think anything of it.

"He came in and left fairly quickly and only then did we realise that it was gone.

"I was obviously very angry about it. Things have been hard going through [the pandemic]. We reopened last August but we were shut for several of those months."

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The bust is one of a limited number and was created by renowned artist Joseph Williams. It is a resin bust - made from resin but designed to look like it was cast in bronze.

Anyone who has any information about the theft should contact Sussex Police on 101 quoting crime reference 765 of 07/09.

Sussex Police has been approached for comment.