Gorilla statue thieves thwarted minutes after stealing £399 ornament from market

Two thieves were caught on CCTV stealing a large garden gorilla ornament from an indoor market in Darlington last Tuesday (25 March).

Brian Rumley, 50, of no fixed abode, and Michael O’Brien, 52, of Arcadia Court, Darlington, stole the ornament, worth £399, from one of the stalls before fleeing with the gorilla to a flat just off Skinnergate.

Darlington Borough Council CCTV operators spotted the pair, who alerted police. Officers apprehended them minutes later.

The pair were arrested and charged with burglary.

Rumley was jailed for 16 weeks while O’Brien was jailed for three months, suspended for a year.