A PAIR of brazen thieves were caught on camera stealing two statues worth £2,000 from a driveway.

Two three-foot high statues, clay replicas of the Chinese Terracotta Warriors, were stolen from a house in Menston.

The Terracotta Army sculptures, worth £1,000 each, were shipped from China by the homeowner 12 years ago. The two stolen items form part of a collection of six identical sculptures.

In the CCTV footage, captured by the resident, a grey Citroen C3 is driven to just beyond the house and parked.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: RAID: Two thieves stole a pair of Terracotta Army soldier statues from the driveway of a house in Menston

Two men then get out. One of them, in his 40s with a black beard, is wearing navy blue trousers and a navy blue Adidas hooded top, with three white stripes on both shoulders, with its hood up. He is also wearing green and grey gloves.

The second man, in his 20s, who is wearing a baseball cap, grey panelled jacket, light grey jeans and grey and white Adidas trainers, also exits the vehicle, and opens its boot on the way to join his accomplice at the driveway.

Both men then go to opposite sides of the driveway and pick up a statue each.

The younger man puts the statue he steals in the car’s boot and the older man puts his figurine in the back passenger side of the vehicle after struggling to fit it into the boot.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: CCTV footage of two men wanted after stealing a pair of Terracotta soldier statues from the driveway of a Menston home.

They are then driven off in the Citroen by a third man.

The resident, who did not want to be named, spoke of his shock at having the items stolen.

He said: “I feel upset. It’s the brazen nature of it.

“If anyone, or any business, has been approached to buy these soldier statues, I would urge them to contact the police.

“I have another four of them in my house. They are part of a collection that I have had for a number of years. The statues have been there for a few years. When I’ve talked to people about what happened, they can’t believe they were taken. They are quite heavy and substantial.”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: One of two thieves who stole a pair of Terracotta Army soldiers from a driveway

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed inquiries are continuing and it had been sent the CCTV footage from the resident.

The incident took place on Saturday, September 3, at just before 4.15pm. The Citroen’s number plate is WR52 YKE.

Anyone with any further information is urged to call police on 101 quoting crime reference 13160394649 of September 3, 2016, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

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