Buddha statues stolen from museum in North

Two valuable Buddha statues have been stolen from a museum by a gang armed with a baseball bat.

Three men smashed the glass cabinet containing the figurines at the Ulster Folk Museum at Cultra outside Belfast in the daytime raid.

A museum spokeswoman said one of the ornate statues was wooden and the other gilded metal.

They date from the mid- to late 19th century, she added.

The men drove up to the museum in a black Audi car just before midday yesterday and carried out the robbery.

No one was injured in the incident.

The men made off in the direction of Belfast.

Detectives said they were releasing images of the stolen artefacts in a bid to prevent the thieves offering them for sale and to ensure their safe return to the museum.