British art thief jailed

A PROLIFIC art thief who made €100,000 stealing rare map prints in a bid to fuel a chronic gambling addiction was jailed yesterday for four-and-a-half-years.

Former landscape gardener Peter Bellwood, aged 52, of Magazine Farm Way, Prettygate, Colchester, Essex, used a craft knife to “razor” antique prints from rare centuries old volumes.

In a six-month campaign he stole 50 rare prints from the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.