Thief mistakes artist’s work for human head

POLICE apologised to a modern artist yesterday after raiding his home when one of his creations was mistaken for human remains.

Richard Morrison, 37, from Wavertree, Liverpool, returned from a day out to find his door had been kicked in by officers armed with a search warrant.

The detectives from Merseyside Police were acting on a tip-off from a thief who had broken into Mr Morrison's house just days earlier.

The burglar, who was arrested for a different crime, told police he had an horrific experience at Mr Morrison's house.

A police spokesman explained: "He thought he saw a head in a jar. It was obviously a very serious allegation."

The discovery was in fact one of Mr Morrison's exhibits a mask made of bacon inside a sweet jar full of formaldehyde.

Mr Morrison, a part-time artist who also works for the Criminal Records Bureau, said the creation had been inspired by the work of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

He said: "It's obviously a very macabre piece of work, but I never expected it to get this reaction.

"The police told me that the burglar was terrified he had a crisis of conscience and confessed his crimes to his mother.

"I made the mask when I was on an art foundation course two years ago. It just seemed like an interesting concept.

"I was quite proud of the result, although it's sagging a bit now."

The thief stole electronic items worth hundreds of pounds before being scared off by the mask.

Chief Inspector Stephen Naylor, of Merseyside Police CID, apologised to Mr Morrison, saying the force would pay for a new front door.

He added: "It would have been a dereliction of duty if we had not followed up this allegation. It was vitally important that we investigated."