How five men stole £4.75m toilet from Blenheim Palace in just five minutes
AS bathroom breaks go, it was a quickie. Five men took just five minutes to steal a £4.75million solid gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the Oxfordshire birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
The gang smashed their way into the stately home with sledge- hammers in the early hours.
9
A gang broke into Blenheim Palace to steal a £4.75million solid gold toilet
Credit: PA
9
The raiders were armed with sledge-hammers and took just five minutes to seize the toilet
Credit: Matrix Pictures
9
The criminals rolled the 98kg lavatory out of the palace and into a waiting VW Golf getaway car
Credit: CPS
Their goal was the 98kg 18-carat gold lavatory, an installation by conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan called America that was installed in the palace just a week earlier.
The masked raiders
Golf
getaway car.
But within ten days of the audacious raid on September 14, 2019, police were being told the name of the man believed to be responsible:
Detective Superintendent Bruce Riddell said 'community intelligence' — code for being ratted out — provided Sheen's name.
READ MORE ON CRIME
The head of specialist operations at Thames Valley Police added: 'He went to hospital the day after for an injury to his hand, which we think he got from going through the window.
"And as the investigations unfolded, thousands of the evidence exhibits were linked to him.
'On his phones we found voice messages of him trying to sell the gold.
"Then we found traces of gold in his pockets, and in a flatbed lorry there was a pair of gloves containing fragments of the gold and his DNA.'
Most read in The Sun
'Evidence overwhelming'
The career criminal — a member of the traveller community — will have another four years to think about where his heist has landed him, added to the 19 years he is already doing inside.
Jailing him at Oxford Crown
Court
yesterday, Judge Ian Pringle blasted: 'This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete. 'America' has never been seen again.'
Sir Winston Churchill's birthplace, Blenheim Palace, gets new autonomous robot tour guide that looks like Dalek from Doctor Who
Sheen was out of jail on licence when he planned the
He had received 14 years in 2010 when an innocent couple got caught in the spray from a shotgun during a shoot-out in Coventry with a rival traveller clan.
Builder Sheen, 40, ran a burglary gang from his slick end-of-terrace home on an Oxford council estate.
They broke into the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket in May 2020, making off with the Ascot Gold Vase and two Doncaster cups, and stole tractors and other farm equipment, making an estimated £2.6million within a year.
Sheen also conned elderly customers out of hundreds of thousands of pounds for dodgy building work.
9
James Sheen was already in jail for 19 years - and has had an extra four years added to the sentence
Credit: PA
9
Co-defendant Michael Jones was locked up for 27 months for helping plan the raid
Credit: PA
Yesterday
His lawyer, Michael Neofytou, described the raid as 'crude', adding: 'It didn't have the hallmarks of a sophisticated heist.'
The burglary leader pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle.
The evidence against James Sheen was so overwhelming he had no choice but to plead guilty.
Det Supt Riddell
Co-defendant Michael Jones, 39, who had worked for Sheen's building company, was locked up for 27 months for helping plan the raid.
The roofer — first convicted at the age of 13 — was found
Yesterday, a judge said he wasn't satisfied Jones was one of the five masked men who actually took the golden loo.
He had denied that a visit to see the sparkly toilet the day before it was stolen was a reconnaissance trip, and described the experience of using it for real as 'splendid'.
Sheen and four others smashed through two locked gates in a pair of stolen cars.
They then broke a side window and splintered two more doors before prising the 18-carat loo from the wall.
Sheen's DNA was found on one of the hammers that was left behind.
Red-faced palace bosses admitted that the exhibit — which had been installed at Blenheim days earlier — was not covered by CCTV.
Chief executive Dominic Hare later told the BBC: 'We took possession of this precious item and managed to lose it within a day.'
Cops found a mountain of dodgy messages on Sheen's phone.
Two days after the raid, as he was laid up in hospital having an operation on an infected hand, Sheen texted gold dealer pal
Fred
Doe: 'I got something right up your path.'
9
Sheen and four others smashed through two locked gates in a pair of stolen cars
Credit: PA
9
Sheen's DNA was found on one of the hammers that was left behind in the raid
Credit: CPS
The pair tried to flog the loot in London's Hatton Garden area.
Det Supt Riddell said: 'The evidence against James Sheen was so overwhelming he had no choice but to plead guilty.'
None of the gold has ever been recovered — but cops believe the toilet was broken up between the five thieves.
Prosecutors say Sheen had tried to sell the gold to Bora Guccuk, a boyfriend of glam Instagram model
Chloe
Othen, but the deal collapsed.
Hatton Garden jeweller Guccuk, 41, was cleared of
money
laundering in March.
Doe, 36, was found guilty but spared jail last month for his part in trying to sell on the metal.
Sheen's WhatsApps suggest he pawned his share in Birmingham, pocketing £520,000.
Det Supt Bruce Riddell is now focusing on recouping Sheen's ill-gotten gains.
He said: 'Trading Standards have already identified almost £200,000 worth of assets that they're in the process of recovering.'
The seasoned cop is also trying to bring the three other members of the five-strong heist gang to justice.
He appealed for anyone with information about the outstanding raiders to come forward, adding: 'Relationships and allegiances change over the years.'
9
Red-faced palace bosses admitted the exhibit — which had been installed at Blenheim days earlier — was not covered by CCTV
Credit: Getty
9
Blenheim Palace was the birthplace of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Credit: Getty - Contributor
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
I saw arrogant Mick Philpott carry out sick plot to emerge as the ‘hero' before torching home & burning kids alive
WHEN Mick Philpott burned his six children to death in a family home, horrified parents struggled to comprehend what kind of monster could commit such a sickening crime. Now, a Sun investigation has uncovered new evidence of his botched game plan to play the 'hero' by rescuing his kids from the flames, and how he desperately tried to deflect the blame as his doomed 12 The scene after the fire at Victory Road, Allenton, in 2012 Credit: Handout 12 Mick Philpott and wife Mairead speak to the media after the fire Credit: PA:Press Association 12 Philpott's six children who died Speaking for the first time in our brand new series, Scene of the Crime, the killer's traumatised neighbours shine fresh light on what really happened before and after that tragic night 13 years ago. On the day before he Haunted by the memory of the children's blackened bodies, she emotionally tells how they "paid the price of their father's "arrogance and stupidity". Meanwhile, another resident on Victory Road reveals how she and her partner were called 'child murderers' in the street after cops held her and her partner for 72 hours - as shameless Philpott scrambled to pin the blame on THEM for his crimes. The furious locals paint a grotesque picture of the convicted mass killer, who we recently revealed was In extraordinary detail, they tell how he acted with impunity, seeing himself saw himself as 'God's gift', and paraded up and down the street often dressed in little more than a pair of turquoise speedos. Dinner lady Pearl Turner was in her garden when she spotted her next-door neighbour, Philpott, setting up the ladders at the back of his home. Pearl, who lived next door to the family for several years, claimed that he'd planned to climb them once he'd set the house ablaze, and help pull his kids to safety. The dad - who had previously appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show - had concocted the arson scheme to pin on former mistress Lisa Willis who he was due to face in court over access to his four kids with her. But in a tragic turn of events, he had forgotten to unlock their bedroom windows, leaving them trapped inside the burning building. Evil dad Mick Philpott who killed six children in a horror blaze left 'battered and bruised' in brutal jail beating The fire claimed the lives of Duwayne, 13, Jade, 10, John, nine, Jack, seven, Jesse, six, and Jayden, five. Only Duwayne, the eldest, managed to escape the house alive, before he too died from his injuries in hospital days later. Both Philpott and his wife Mairead, who supported his plan, were eventually arrested on May 29 2012, initially for murder, although charges were later changed to manslaughter. Haunting memories Thirteen years on, Pearl is still traumatised by the memory of seeing the Now 78 and retired, she was still living next door to where the tragedy unfolded when The Sun revisited the scene of the killings. Breaking her silence on the horrific fire, she says: 'I'll never get the sight of them lying there out of my head." She shared heartbreaking details about the night of the fire but also offered insight into the extraordinary lengths Philpott had gone to in order to ensure he emerged as a hero. She added: 'I was in my garden the day before the fire and Philpott came home with two sets of ladders. 'He initially placed them against my wall at the back, then moved them off and positioned them very carefully underneath the two upstairs windows at the rear of his house. They were the children's bedrooms. 12 New homes were built on the street after the Philpott home was demolished in September 2013 Credit: Roland Leon 12 Philpott and Mairead appearing on This Morning in 2006 Credit: Rex 12 The landing of the house in Derby after the fire where six children died Credit: Handout 'As soon as I saw those two ladders leaning up against our wall, I knew the crafty sod was up to something, but never in a million years would I have worked out the evil plan he had in mind. 'I knew he hadn't brought the ladders home to do any DIY or a spot of house maintenance because he was useless and lazy. I'd never seen any ladders at his property before. 'As soon as I became aware their house was on fire, it became clear to me what his purpose with the ladders had been. He'd planned to use them to climb up to their windows and rescue them so he could play the hero. 'But he forgot the bedroom windows had locks on them and in the panic and chaos of the fire, with smoke everywhere, those poor children weren't able to open the windows and died. "They paid the price of their father's arrogance and stupidity. It was all such a needless, tragic waste. 'They were lovely, polite kids. They always waved at me when they saw me. If I was in the garden, they'd wave from their bedroom windows. 'On the day of the fire, I told the police about my suspicions over the ladders, but it took them weeks to arrest him. I've never really understood why. It was obvious to me what he'd done.' 'We were called child murderers' One of those arrested, a 41-year-old woman named Vicky, also told The Sun - in another first interview - how Philpott tried to frame her and her partner for the fire that left six children dead. Vicky, then aged 28, revealed how officers arrested her and her late partner Adam, then 38, who died last year, and took them to Ripley police station and held them for questioning for 72 hours. Through tears, Vicky said: 'We had been friends with Mick, Mairead and Lisa (Philpott's former live-in mistress) for some time and 'When the police spoke to him on the day of the fire he told them me and Adam had started it. "As soon as they told me Mick had accused us of starting the fire, I knew it had to have been Mick himself who had done it. Why else would he have tried to put it on us? 'Even so, it took us three days to convince the cops we were innocent before they let us go, but when we got back people still believed we'd done it. 'We were getting called child murderers in the street and on social media. It was absolute hell for us. It went on for months and months. I am still traumatised by it. "Poor Adam is dead now but it was the same for him until the day he died. You just never get over it. 'The abuse only stopped when Philpott and the other two went to court and the details came out, but for me and Adam, the damage was already done. 'And those poor, poor children. Nothing could bring them back. 'Philpott was an obnoxious, self-centred b*****d who thought he was God's gift to everything. He killed his own children then tried to frame me and Adam - his friends - for it. That tells you what kind of man he is. 'I hope he is never released from jail. He is a monster and should die in there.' 12 The bathroom at the house after the fire that killed six children Credit: PA:Press Association 12 The charred shell of the house was boarded up in 2013, with flowers and teddy bears left outside in tribute to the children who died Credit: PA:Press Association Vicky said she remains close friends with Lisa, and is 'in touch' with her. 'Lisa has long since moved away from Derby and I would never tell anyone where she is now,' she said. Vicky also revealed that Mairead, who was released early from jail in 2023, has since changed her name and is living with a new partner. 'She is a monster too and should never have been let out early. Why should she be allowed to start a new life as if nothing happened?' 'Hope he never gets out' Speaking to those living in Victory Road now, it is notable how many locals' lives were interwoven with the Philpotts. Neighbour Martin's son was in a relationship with Philpott's daughter from his first marriage at the time of the tragedy. He said his son, then 18, had been one of the first to try and enter the burning building and rescue the children. Martin said: 'Before the fire crews arrived, my boy was there trying to get the kids out. "He saw the ladders at the back of the house and climbed up to try and get in through the window but the heat was so intense it was burning the hairs off his arms. His skin felt like it was on fire. 'He tried and tried to smash the windows but he just couldn't. It was awful. 'He knew the Philpotts because he'd been going out with one of Mick's daughters for about a year at the time. We all got to know Mick and his family quite well and we'd sometimes go round for dinner. 'I never really liked him because he was such a loudmouth, but I had to make the effort for the sake of my son and his girlfriend. 12 Philpott in the dock at Nottingham Crown Court Credit: Pricilla Coleman 12 He wept in the witness box Credit: PA:Press Association 'To be honest, I thought Mick was a bit of a prat. He'd been on TV and thought of himself as a star. He really believed he was a film star. 'But I never thought for a moment he'd be capable of what he did. 'What happened put such a strain on my son's relationship with Mick's daughter that they broke up a year or so later. "My son was traumatised by the events of that night and he has struggled with his emotions to this day, although very recently he has started to open up a little. 'All of us around here just want to forget about Mick and that horrific day, but it is impossible. I hope he never gets out of prison.' Elsewhere in Victory Road, a 38-year-old mother told how her son was at school with several of the Philpotts' children. She recoils at the mention of Mick Philpott's name and tells how he 'made my skin crawl'. She said: 'I hated him on sight. He was a horrible, horrible man. 'He was friends with my ex-partner and he'd call round here to see him wearing nothing but a pair of tight, turquoise Speedos and a pair of trainers. 'He'd stand at our porch with one leg raised on the windowsill like he was God's gift, but all I saw was a fame-hungry w****r. He was utterly repulsive. 'I had nieces in their teens at the time and when they were here he'd be leering at them. It was disgusting. 'When they left to go back home, I'd go with them in case he tried to follow them. I just didn't trust him at all. "Once I told her to stop being such a wet blanket and stand up to him, but she never did. If he told her to jump, she'd say 'How high?'. It was that kind of relationship. 'When she and Lisa were both pregnant, I remember the three of them walking back from town with loads and loads of bags full of shopping, but he made them carry it all. 12 The headstones on the graves of the six Philpott children who died Credit: Paul Tonge - The Sun 12 Philpott with his mistress Lisa and wife Mairead, and kids, after he launched an appeal to the council to be rehoused to a bigger property Credit: Rex "He was walking ahead of them, empty-handed, in his stupid Speedos and nothing else. 'It was a weird set-up with the three of them. Between Mairead and Lisa, one of them was always pregnant. 'But even though I knew what an awful man he was, I was surprised he could kill his own children. I hope to God he is never allowed out of jail for what he did.' Battered and bruised Last month, The Sun revealed how Philpott was left with bruises and lumps on his head after an inmate battered him with a metal container at tough HMP Wakefield, West Yorks. A source said: 'Philpott was in a bad way after the attack – battered and bruised and with two large and noticeable lumps on the back of his head. 'The other lad pounced on him and whacked him quite a few times from behind. 'It was one bloke on his own – someone quite a bit younger than Philpott and it happened really quickly on the landing. 'There was a huge commotion, an alarm was going off and guards rushed in to help. 'Otherwise it could have been a lot worse for Philpott. 'Philpott was feeling very sorry for himself after the attack – but no-one had much sympathy. 'That is reserved for the children he killed."
The Irish Sun
19 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How five men stole £4.75m toilet from Blenheim Palace in just five minutes
AS bathroom breaks go, it was a quickie. Five men took just five minutes to steal a £4.75million solid gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the Oxfordshire birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. The gang smashed their way into the stately home with sledge- hammers in the early hours. 9 A gang broke into Blenheim Palace to steal a £4.75million solid gold toilet Credit: PA 9 The raiders were armed with sledge-hammers and took just five minutes to seize the toilet Credit: Matrix Pictures 9 The criminals rolled the 98kg lavatory out of the palace and into a waiting VW Golf getaway car Credit: CPS Their goal was the 98kg 18-carat gold lavatory, an installation by conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan called America that was installed in the palace just a week earlier. The masked raiders Golf getaway car. But within ten days of the audacious raid on September 14, 2019, police were being told the name of the man believed to be responsible: Detective Superintendent Bruce Riddell said 'community intelligence' — code for being ratted out — provided Sheen's name. READ MORE ON CRIME The head of specialist operations at Thames Valley Police added: 'He went to hospital the day after for an injury to his hand, which we think he got from going through the window. "And as the investigations unfolded, thousands of the evidence exhibits were linked to him. 'On his phones we found voice messages of him trying to sell the gold. "Then we found traces of gold in his pockets, and in a flatbed lorry there was a pair of gloves containing fragments of the gold and his DNA.' Most read in The Sun 'Evidence overwhelming' The career criminal — a member of the traveller community — will have another four years to think about where his heist has landed him, added to the 19 years he is already doing inside. Jailing him at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, Judge Ian Pringle blasted: 'This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete. 'America' has never been seen again.' Sir Winston Churchill's birthplace, Blenheim Palace, gets new autonomous robot tour guide that looks like Dalek from Doctor Who Sheen was out of jail on licence when he planned the He had received 14 years in 2010 when an innocent couple got caught in the spray from a shotgun during a shoot-out in Coventry with a rival traveller clan. Builder Sheen, 40, ran a burglary gang from his slick end-of-terrace home on an Oxford council estate. They broke into the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket in May 2020, making off with the Ascot Gold Vase and two Doncaster cups, and stole tractors and other farm equipment, making an estimated £2.6million within a year. Sheen also conned elderly customers out of hundreds of thousands of pounds for dodgy building work. 9 James Sheen was already in jail for 19 years - and has had an extra four years added to the sentence Credit: PA 9 Co-defendant Michael Jones was locked up for 27 months for helping plan the raid Credit: PA Yesterday His lawyer, Michael Neofytou, described the raid as 'crude', adding: 'It didn't have the hallmarks of a sophisticated heist.' The burglary leader pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle. The evidence against James Sheen was so overwhelming he had no choice but to plead guilty. Det Supt Riddell Co-defendant Michael Jones, 39, who had worked for Sheen's building company, was locked up for 27 months for helping plan the raid. The roofer — first convicted at the age of 13 — was found Yesterday, a judge said he wasn't satisfied Jones was one of the five masked men who actually took the golden loo. He had denied that a visit to see the sparkly toilet the day before it was stolen was a reconnaissance trip, and described the experience of using it for real as 'splendid'. Sheen and four others smashed through two locked gates in a pair of stolen cars. They then broke a side window and splintered two more doors before prising the 18-carat loo from the wall. Sheen's DNA was found on one of the hammers that was left behind. Red-faced palace bosses admitted that the exhibit — which had been installed at Blenheim days earlier — was not covered by CCTV. Chief executive Dominic Hare later told the BBC: 'We took possession of this precious item and managed to lose it within a day.' Cops found a mountain of dodgy messages on Sheen's phone. Two days after the raid, as he was laid up in hospital having an operation on an infected hand, Sheen texted gold dealer pal Fred Doe: 'I got something right up your path.' 9 Sheen and four others smashed through two locked gates in a pair of stolen cars Credit: PA 9 Sheen's DNA was found on one of the hammers that was left behind in the raid Credit: CPS The pair tried to flog the loot in London's Hatton Garden area. Det Supt Riddell said: 'The evidence against James Sheen was so overwhelming he had no choice but to plead guilty.' None of the gold has ever been recovered — but cops believe the toilet was broken up between the five thieves. Prosecutors say Sheen had tried to sell the gold to Bora Guccuk, a boyfriend of glam Instagram model Chloe Othen, but the deal collapsed. Hatton Garden jeweller Guccuk, 41, was cleared of money laundering in March. Doe, 36, was found guilty but spared jail last month for his part in trying to sell on the metal. Sheen's WhatsApps suggest he pawned his share in Birmingham, pocketing £520,000. Det Supt Bruce Riddell is now focusing on recouping Sheen's ill-gotten gains. He said: 'Trading Standards have already identified almost £200,000 worth of assets that they're in the process of recovering.' The seasoned cop is also trying to bring the three other members of the five-strong heist gang to justice. He appealed for anyone with information about the outstanding raiders to come forward, adding: 'Relationships and allegiances change over the years.' 9 Red-faced palace bosses admitted the exhibit — which had been installed at Blenheim days earlier — was not covered by CCTV Credit: Getty 9 Blenheim Palace was the birthplace of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill Credit: Getty - Contributor
Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
Human rights campaigner slams race-hate violence and says ‘we're whitest part of UK'
Mr Corrigan said the nights of violence constituted a 'racist pogram'. In response to the continued racist and violent disorder spreading across Northern Ireland, Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland Director, also blamed irresponsible rhetoric from some local politicians for fanning the flames. Without naming him in person that's a clear dig at Communities Minister Gordon Lyons who has faced calls to resign following social media posts in the lead-up to a protest that turned violent at Larne Leisure Centre on Wednesday. Mr Corrigan said the nights of violence constituted a 'racist pogram'. 'We are in the midst of a racist pogrom,' he said today. 'Families have already lost their homes, and lives may soon be lost unless this violence ends now. We are only a petrol bomb away from someone being killed. Gordon Lyons resisted calls for his resignation (Liam McBurney/PA) 'This violence is being fuelled by racist hatred - stoked by disinformation on social media and amplified by politicians who irresponsibly conflate immigration with crime and social issues which affect all communities. 'We need politicians to speak truthfully about immigration, not echo vague concerns from the streets or false claims on social media that profit off lies. 'According to the 2021 census, only 3.4% people in Northern Ireland are from minority ethnic backgrounds. That means 96.6% are not. We remain the whitest and least diverse part of the UK and Ireland. 'While immigration has gradually increased over the last decade, crime rates have fallen – except for racially motivated hate crime, which is now higher than sectarian hate crime. People from immigrant and minoritised communities are far more likely to be victims of hate crime than anyone else." A vehicle burns in Ballymena on June 10. Pic: Getty Today's News in 90 Seconds - June 14 2025 'Recent research from the Northern Ireland Assembly highlights migrant workers are vital in sustaining essential public services, including hospitals and community care. 'We must do more to protect their rights to live free from harassment and violence - we should recognise, thank, and celebrate them for their contributions to and enrichment of our communities.' People caught up in clashes in Ballymena were temporarily moved to Larne Leisure Centre on Wednesday. It was later attacked and set on fire. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said he "strongly hit back at any notion" he had revealed the use of this facility. Sinn Féin Finance Minister John O'Dowd is among those calling for Lyons to consider his position claiming he "failed to show leadership". Read more DUP leader Gavin Robinson told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme Lyons has been "fundamentally misrepresented". Mr Lyons was criticised for an earlier Facebook post in which he said he had been made aware that "a number of individuals were temporarily moved to Larne Leisure Centre". Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said the post would not "helps matters at all", adding "we all have a responsibility to act in a sensible way in these circumstances". "He might want to reflect on what he said." The PSNI and community as a whole is bracing itself for further protests over the coming days across the country.
