Two charged over gold artefacts stolen from museum

Unspecified gold artefacts from the museum's valuable Bronze Age collection were stolen from the museum

Two men have been charged with burglary after gold jewellery dating to the Bronze Age was stolen from St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff.

Gavin John Burnett, 43, of Berrywood Close, and Darren Paul Burnett, 50, of Sharrow Place, both in Northampton, are due to appear at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

South Wales Police said it was continuing to investigate the burglary, which took place at about 00:30 BST on Monday.

Several items, described as "irreplaceable" by the boss of the museum, were stolen from a display case and are yet to be found.

Northamptonshire Police said both men have also been charged with one count of conspiring to steal motor vehicles.

The charge relates to incidents between 28 July and 14 August this year when a series of burglaries took place at "several properties" in Northampton, resulting in "a number of cars" being stolen.

Gavin Burnett is also charged with two counts of threatening behaviour and one count of "making threats to kill" in connection with threats made against three Northamptonshire Police officers.

A 45-year-old woman, from Northamptonshire, has also been arrested as part of the investigation, and is on police bail.

St Fagans, located in a leafy village on the outskirts of the capital, is one of Wales' most popular heritage attractions and is one of seven national museums under the curation of Amgueddfa Cymru, or Museum Wales.

South Wales Police said a police helicopter arrived at the museum within five minutes of the break-in in the early hours of 6 October.

CCTV captured two men smashing their way into the museum in what looked to be a targeted attack.

Neither the museum nor the police have specified what items were stolen, but the museum's Bronze Age collection includes gold ingots, bracelets and a lunula necklace.

On Tuesday, Jane Richardson, chief executive of National Museum Wales, described footage of the burglary as "emotional to watch".

"We believe they entirely knew what they were after, they were so focused," she told BBC Radio Wales.

"It's been very upsetting for us all. We're absolutely devastated.

"These are very significant items for the stories of Wales," she added.

"Any value would be meaningless because you can't recreate that level of history. You can't put a price on it. They cannot be replaced they are so special.

Det Insp Bob Chambers, from South Wales Police, thanked Northamptonshire Police, the museum and members of the public who "responded to our appeal for information".

The museum was redeveloped in a £30m overhaul in 2018, adding three new galleries and helping it clinch the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year award in 2019.

Ms Richardson expressed relief that security guards were safe and unharmed during the break-in.

"It could have been very, very dangerous," she said.

"We always take security and safety very seriously," adding, "we have very strong protocols in place".