Police release video in theft of bronze turtle from English gallery

Lincolnshire Police released security video Wednesday of a man they want to identify after a cast bronze turtle worth £1,850 was stolen from an art gallery in Stamford, England.

In the footage, a man in a dark baseball cap and light blue short-sleeved button-up shirt, with a dark jacket draped over one shoulder, says something to a woman in a white top holding an orange cat. He smiles and walks out the gallery's open glass door.

The video is shot from a high angle, and the woman's face is blurred. Framed paintings hang on the white walls around them and on an exposed brick wall visible through an arched doorway.

The theft happened at about 2:40 p.m. on October 3 at Adrian Hill Fine Art, Lincolnshire Police said in an appeal posted to its website.

"We believe he may have information that could assist us in our investigation," police said of the man.

As of Monday night, the appeal did not say whether police had recovered the turtle or arrested anyone. Police did not name the sculptor or give the statue's size.

Adrian Hill Fine Art, led by managing director Adrian Hill, opened its Stamford gallery in The Mews at the George Hotel in August 2020, according to the company's website. Its first gallery opened in Holt, Norfolk, in July 2013.

The Stamford gallery sells mainly paintings by members of the Royal Academy and other British art institutes, along with works by L.S. Lowry, Edward Seago and David Hockney, the site says.

The news came after Lincolnshire Police announced earlier in October that 62-year-old Mark McNeil of London was facing a criminal charge related to the theft of a £7,000 bronze hedgehog statue.

That sculpture was stolen from a business in Stamford in August 2025.

“Despite proving to be a prickly investigation, officers remained on the trail and ensured the investigation did not go into hibernation,” police said.

McNeil was due to appear at Boston Magistrates' Court on October 26, police said.

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