THIEVES smashed into an auction house in South Cerney last night and stole around £30,000 worth of jade and silver.

The 43 lots, which were set to be auctioned at Dominic Winter auctioneers today, included Chinese jade and other oriental objects along with some silver pieces.

Auctioneer Chris Albury told the Standard the thieves had pulled the hinges off a heavy grill protecting a fire door at the back of the building at around 10pm.

“They then took out the pane of security glass and let themselves in setting off the alarms in the process,” he said. “They smashed and grabbed from two cabinets in the foyer and saleroom, snatching about 30 lots of Chinese jade and mostly oriental objects and some silver pieces.”

He added he had arrived, along with police, within 20 minutes of the crime but the thieves had already fled, leaving a few dropped items in their wake.

“A very sad event but it seems we have now joined the ranks of salerooms the country over who are being targeted for such items on an increasingly regular basis,” he said.