A volunteer-run museum in North Yorkshire, which fell victim to thieves during opening hours, has blamed the crime on a shortage of staff.
The Prison and Police Museum in Ripon lost two sets of handcuffs and two cross-belts once worn by mounted police. One of the items, a 1942 cross-belt, is irreplaceable.
Chris Hewitt, the honorary curator, was the only member of staff in the museum when the incident took place this summer.
Hewitt was attending to 15 overseas students when the two suspects left the museum, but he noticed that they looked "nervous". "If there had been two of us, I would have challenged them," he added.
The stolen items were removed from two glass cases by prizing the metal bars at either side and lifting the lid.
Felicity Heywood
The Prison and Police Museum in Ripon lost two sets of handcuffs and two cross-belts once worn by mounted police. One of the items, a 1942 cross-belt, is irreplaceable.
Chris Hewitt, the honorary curator, was the only member of staff in the museum when the incident took place this summer.
Hewitt was attending to 15 overseas students when the two suspects left the museum, but he noticed that they looked "nervous". "If there had been two of us, I would have challenged them," he added.
The stolen items were removed from two glass cases by prizing the metal bars at either side and lifting the lid.
Felicity Heywood
