Police have defended their investigation into the theft of a valuable bronze sculpture from an artist’s home in Essex last month. Anne Curry, who is famous for her garden sculptures and portraits, told the PA news agency on Saturday (January 4) that she returned to her home in Saffron Walden from a funeral service on the evening of December 6 to find one of her artworks, La Promesse – an imposing bronze sculpture of an iris flower weighing about 350kg – had vanished from her garden in Arkesden, Saffron Walden, Essex. The 82-year-old, whose other works include a bronze bust of former prime minister Sir John Major in the House of Commons, criticised Essex Police for her three-week wait for an officer to visit her home.
Dr Curry fears never being reunited again with her prized sculpture, saying it might have been taken due to the value of bronze. Dr Curry, who was previously married to former Conservative MP David Curry, told the PA news agency: "They obviously had visited the site before. I have 15 to 20 sculptures in this garden, and almost all of them are resins because it’s safer for theft and it’s safer to transport.
The person who stole that one had been in the garden and systematically knocked on the sculptures to see which one was in bronze." Read more: Driver 'speeds to 135mph' in A13 police chase before crashing into a tree Read more: The luxury hot chocolate cafe set to open in Colchester replacing Costa Coffee shop She explained: “What people do not reali.
