Durham University Oriental Museum burglary: Two men arrested

Two men wanted in connection with a raid at Durham University's Oriental Museum, in which artefacts worth almost £2m were taken, have been arrested.

Thieves cut a 3ft wide hole in the wall of the museum on 5 April and stole a Chinese bowl and figurine.

Lee Wildman and Adrian Stanton were arrested in Walsall, West Midlands, on Tuesday. Mr Wildman was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary.

Two women, aged 27 and 19, were also arrested at the same address.

Mr Wildman, 35, was re-arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary and was charged on Tuesday night.

Mr Stanton, 32, was arrested over the same offence, while the two women were held on suspicion of assisting an offender.

All four were taken from the Boatman's Lane area of Walsall to Durham. Mr Wildman is to appear before Peterlee Magistrates on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Stanton and the women are in custody at Durham police office to be interviewed.

The Qing Dynasty bowl and figurine were recovered by detectives eight days after the theft in the Brandon area, on the outskirts of Durham.

Four men and one woman, all from the West Midlands, were arrested at the time.

One of the men, aged 27 has since been released with no further action and the other three men and the woman are on police bail until early June.

Police also want to trace 31-year-old Justin Oliver Clarke in connection with the burglary.

Mr Clarke's last known address was in the Brownhills area of Walsall.

Various Chinese antiques worth more than £18m were also stolen from Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam Museum on 13 April.

On Wednesday, a 28-year-old man and 15-year-old boy were arrested at addresses in east London by officers from Cambridgeshire and the Metropolitan Police.

A Durham Police spokesman said: "These have not yet been recovered and while no formal link has been made between the two burglaries, police are keeping an open mind."