Musician reunited with £250,000 violin ‘stolen’ from train
‘My violin is home safe and sound!’, says owner Stephen Morris
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Your support makes all the difference.An antique violin worth £250,000 which was stolen from a train luggage rack, has been reunited with its owner.
Stephen Morris forgot to pick up the 18th century instrument when he got off at Penge East station in south London last month.
British Transport Police said it was taken by another man who left the train four stops later and released a CCTV image of the suspect.
But on Saturday night Mr Morris confirmed that the violin had been returned and thanked the public for their support.
“My violin is home safe and sound!,” the 51-year-old musician tweeted, before posting a picture of himself kissing the 310-year-old instrument.
He told the BBC that he negotiated the return of the violin after receiving a message on Twitter from a man calling himself “Gene”.
“He was very apologetic, he said he wanted to hand it to me in person,” said Mr Morris.
BTP officers watched as the two men completed the handover at a Waitrose car park near Beckenham train station on Friday night.
“It couldn’t have ended in a happier way,” Mr Morris said.
No further action is being taken against the man, as he contacted Mr Morris and handed the violin back.
The violin is believed to be one of only a few made by David Tecchler, whose name is marked inside, in Rome in 1709.
Mr Morris, who has been a violinist for 44 years, played the instrument on Harry Potter and James Bond film scores.
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