Buddha's left foot offers sole clue to £250,000 antique theft

'Cat burglars' who crept across rooftops to steal Far Eastern artefacts worth up to £250,000 from an antiques shop left behind a possible clue – half a foot.

"Cat burglars" who crept across rooftops to steal Far Eastern artefacts worth up to £250,000 from an antiques shop left behind a possible clue – half a foot.

The foot belonged to a 13th-century wooden Buddha, 6ft-tall and valued at £110,000, which was knocked against a window frame in the burglary. As well as the Buddha, five other valuable artefacts including a sandstone statue and a bronze sculpture were lugged over roofs and fire escapes by the thieves, who had broken into the shop on Bond Street, central London. They may have been disturbed or were simply ignorant of the value of the pieces because they left behind many more valuable antiques.

The broken left foot of the Cambodian Buddha was discovered on the fire escape at the back of the shop after the break-in at about 6.30pm last Sunday. Details emerged only yesterday.

The shop owner, who wants to remain anonymous, has offered a £22,000 reward for information leading to the safe recovery of the items.

PC Matt Benjafield, of the Metropolitan Police, who specialises in art and antiques theft, said: "There is an incredibly small market for these goods and unless they were stolen to order the thieves will have difficulty selling them on.

"The likelihood is the burglars don't realise the value of the pieces and have probably sold them for a pittance. I think they were opportunists who struck lucky.

"They must have been struggling to carry the standing Buddha because it's nearly six-foot tall."

The thieves also stole a £115,000, 6th-century sandstone statue of Pingala, an attendant to a sun god, made in India; a 12th-century gilt bronze head of Buddha worth £15,000; a 17th- century Tibetan painted skull cap valued at £11,000; a 14cm £2,000 seated monk made from sandalwood and a portrait of a Tibetan lama valued at £3,000.