Yorkshire gang jailed for handling £5m of stolen antiques
Three men have been jailed for handling stolen antiques worth £5m from country houses.
All three had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods earlier this year at Leeds Crown Court.
Darren Webster, 46, of Burnshaw Mews, Leeds, was jailed for six years and six months.
Carl Rutter 46, of Silcoates Street, Wakefield, was jailed for six years and Brian Eaton, 69, of Chapel Road, Tankersley, was jailed for four years.
According to police the valuables, reported stolen from country halls and estates in North Yorkshire and Sussex, included a pair of Louis XVI vases valued at almost £1m and a Chippendale table worth £500,000.
The antiques were recovered by officers in September 2011 after a year-long investigation.
They had been stolen from Newby Hall and Sion Hill in North Yorkshire and Firle Place in Sussex between 2007 and 2009.