Smashed antique vase man arrested

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 05 Apr 2006, 19:37

A museum visitor who said he had accidentally smashed three 17th Century porcelain vases has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage.

Nick Flynn said he had tripped over a shoelace and crashed into the Quing Dynasty vases at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge in January.

A specialist restorer is gluing together more than 400 pieces to recreate the highly valuable artefacts.

Mr Flynn, 42, was arrested at his home in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire.

Smashed to pieces

A Cambridgeshire police spokesman said: "A 42-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage in connection with an incident at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge on 25 January."

The three damaged vases were among the best-known artefacts at the Fitzwilliam Museum where they had stood on a recessed windowsill since 1948.

Two were smashed into pieces and a third suffered serious damage when they fell to the ground, and many shards of porcelain became mingled together.

Conservation experts are documenting each piece in an effort to put the vases back together as they were. But they said the cracks would still show.

The three vases are from a collection of five which the museum said could be worth up to £300,000.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/camb ... 878850.stm

I know it's a bit tight but I heard this news on the radio, and I could not stop laughing.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 05 Apr 2006, 19:53

Huh... thats already very old news, so why is he only now being arrested? And I saw on TV that he was already welcomed back in the museum cause it seemed like just a freak accident??? So why the sudden arrest? Weird...

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 05 Apr 2006, 20:01

You sure it's not a different case? This is new news... just reported today in fact.

Unless the BBC are like soooo 2005.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 05 Apr 2006, 20:04

What museum wouldn't protect something that important?

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 05 Apr 2006, 20:42

BiscLimpkit wrote:You sure it's not a different case? This is new news... just reported today in fact.

Unless the BBC are like soooo 2005.

No, same case. 100% certain. They have all their valuable stuff out in the open so the public can touch it and walk among it...

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 05 Apr 2006, 21:09

Well then don't arrest the guy, arrest the museum owner. It's obvious this would happen at some point if they "let people" touch such valuable things.

IDIOTS!

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 05 Apr 2006, 21:12

I still find it so funny.

The other drivers must've thought I was some kind of looney, laughing all by myself.

Something so innocent, tripping over a shoelace, gets you arrested LMAO!!

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 05 Apr 2006, 22:09

'what are you in for?'
'Killed my wife, my 3 kids... and I flushed the pet-turtle...which apparently is a crime... and you!?'
'Not wearing velcro shoes'

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 05 Apr 2006, 22:17

The guy was on Richard & Judy weeks ago.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 05 Apr 2006, 22:26

gasteropod wrote:The guy was on Richard & Judy weeks ago.

Ah... so not only is he incredibly stupid for not tying his shoelaces and tripping over them... he apparently also doesnt have any self-respect...

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Apr 2006, 00:40

Yeah, this is old news. I saw the guy has been welcomed back just recently after a temp ban. Unless they've found new evidence to arrest him?

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 06 Apr 2006, 09:54

What's even scarier is Richard and Judy getting all the way to Holland :drunken:

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 06 Apr 2006, 13:12

bradavon wrote:Well then don't arrest the guy, arrest the museum owner. It's obvious this would happen at some point if they "let people" touch such valuable things.

IDIOTS!

True

Tripping over a shoelace is obviously an accident.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 06 Apr 2006, 16:26

He was arrested after Police restudied the footage and changed their mind.