THIEVES have stolen unique metal sculptures worth tens of thousands of pounds from the home of a well-known artist.

Michael Lyons reported the theft of three pieces from the garden of his home in Cawood yesterday, after he discovered the sculptures had been taken.

Mr Lyons said: “According to my neighbours, they saw a white van and trailer around, and one of them thought it was going up my drive.

“There’s nothing unusual about that, because I have people coming to collect items for exhibitions, so they wouldn’t think it was anything exceptional.”

The sculptures, titled Mayflower (2), Energy Of The Mountain: Echo And Revelation, and Energy Of The Mountain (2), were designed by Michael between 1983 and 2002, and are worth thousands of pounds each.

Echo And Revelation, the largest of the three sculptures, was built from sheet copper in China, and weighs about three-quarters of a tonne, and the smaller two are made of bronze.

Detective Constable Lee Maeer, of Selby CID, said: “As the three pieces have a combined weight of at least one-and-a-half tonnes I believe that this will have been a carefully planned theft.

“It is possible that the thieves spent time in the area prior to the theft waiting for the owner to leave the statues unattended.

“I would therefore ask anybody who saw people or vehicles acting suspiciously to come forward and contact the police as soon as possible.

“I am also appealing to anyone working in the scrap metal trade to contact the police immediately if they are offered large quantities of copper or bronze.”

Mr Lyons said: “It could be an art theft or scrap metal theft.

“I must say that the first thought was scrap metal, but I just don’t know. That is the awful thing about it.

“It’s got to the point that I don’t like going out of the house now, it is very upsetting.”

Anyone with any information is asked to phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060247, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.