Appeal to find owner of stolen MBE medal

West Midlands Police has not been able to trace the owner of the MBE or where it was stolen from

Police are appealing for help to reunite a stolen MBE, awarded by King George V, with its owner.

It was given to West Midlands Police by someone they described as a prolific burglary offender.

But despite research, officers have been unable to discover where it was stolen from or who it may belong to.

PC Paul Welch, from the force's crime free team, said: "This MBE is potentially over 80-years-old, and so we believe that it may have been passed down by whoever actually received the award."

The force said it was returned by an offender as part of it Crime Free Programme which targets individuals who are engaged in prolific, non-violent burglary offending

An MBE is an order of the British Empire award. It is the third highest ranking Order of the British Empire award, behind CBE which is first and then OBE. It stands for Member of the Order of the British Empire,

This one was awarded by King George V and police believe that it was something that may have been passed down through a family generation.

But after failing to locate where and when the MBE award was stolen from, the force said it was now turning to the public for help to hopefully find the owner of the "prestigious" award.

"We have tried to reach out to potential owners and also spoke with St James’ Palace, but we have so far been unable to identify the owner," PC Welch added.

“It is a prestigious award, and so we would like to reunite it with the respective owner."

The offender who gave it to police was part of taking part in a scheme that sees stolen property returned while they undergo an intensive community sentence, the force said.