A man accused of robbery at York City Art Gallery works as a criminologist, it has emerged.

Craig William Townend, aged 28, of Middle Avenue, Rawmarsh, Rotherham, appeared before York magistrates yesterday charged with robbing staff members RJ Fisher, DW Blades, AC Dunnington and PJ Gelder of 20 paintings and panels to the value of £1.7 million, belonging to City of York Council on January 22.

His stepfather William Spence, aged 49, a window cleaner, also of Middle Avenue, Rawmarsh, Rotherham, appeared before the magistrates accused of handling the stolen paintings and panels at Rotherham on May 17.

Both men were remanded in custody until next Tuesday.

Meanwhile the curator of York City Art Gallery has revealed that some of the paintings stolen in the robbery on January 22 could be back on show within a matter of weeks.

Speaking after their dramatic return this week, gallery curator Richard Green said the works were in "astonishingly" good condition given what had happened to them.

"I would have thought some of the paintings will be re-hung in three or four weeks' time," he added.

Others would need minor restoration and they would probably not be re-hung for some months, while four which had been cut from their stretchers during the robbery - Portrait of a Young Woman by William Roberts, Not Sold Yet by John Templeton Lucas, Old Heffel of Rowton House by Walter Richard Sickert, and Minster Court by Algernon Cecil Newton - would need more serious work.

"We may well be talking about a year or more on those," said Mr Green.But a Turner watercolour of Rievaulx Abbey, valued at £450,000 and the pick of the robbery haul, seemed to have suffered minimal damage.

Mr Green said they had envisaged the paintings being rolled up and had visions of the paint cracking and disintegrating, but that had not happened and it seemed that the works had been kept flat.

"I would say it's the happiest outcome possible from this very unpleasant situation," he said.

Police are looking for at least one more person in connection with the robbery.

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