The thieves entered the building via the roof by removing tiles and lowering themselves down through the ceiling on Wednesday, October 3. They made their way through the offices to the showroom which houses wares from 55 dealers and stole thousands of pounds worth of antique gold and jewellery.
Cabinets were smashed and among the items taken were a gold card case in a fitted box, a 15ct gold brooch with a portrait miniature of a girl in a coral necklace, 14ct chandelier earrings, Victorian cameos, Victorian gold bangles, a double Albert chain and a three-stone diamond ring.
The centre is run by Tim Hogarth, who is also a regular on ITV show Dickinson's Real Deal, and his own cabinet and those belonging to other dealers were affected.
“Be vigilant”
He told ATG: “These are all items that can be re-sold and are unlikely to be melted down for scrap. We would love to get any information any one has and if they are offered any of these items they should contact police.”
Hogarth said centres in York and Harrogate had similar incidences recently and added: “We are appealing for people to be vigilant as these thieves are targeting antiques centres.”
Anyone with any information which could help the investigation is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information to the Force Control Room for incident 12180185298.
