영국 뉴캐슬 시장의 관저에서 월요일 밤 (현지시각) 노벨상 메달과 나폴레옹 전쟁 참전 해군 사령관의 머리타래가 도난 당했다.

경찰은 도난 된 물건들이 시중에서 거래되기는 어렵지만 시가 15만 파운드의 가치가 넘을 것이라고 예상했다.

절도범들은 범행을 위해 지하실을 통해 시장의 관저로 침입한 것으로 밝혀졌다.

노벨상 메달은 1934년 노동당 출신으로서는 최초로 의장직을 맡은 아서 앤더슨 (Arthur Henderson)가 국제평화연맹과 제네바 비무장 회담을 이끈 공헌을 인정받아 수상한 상이었으며 사라진 머리타래는 트라팔가르 해전에서 활약한 쿠스버트 콜링우드 해군 사령관의 것으로 밝혀졌다.

한 관계자는 “노벨 평화상은 지난 1901년부터 2012년까지 총 124명에게 93회 수여됐고 그 중 노벨상이 도난 당한 경우는 극히 드물다”고 말했다.







<관련 영문 기사>

Nobel Peace Prize stolen in burglary

A Nobel Peace Prize medallion and a lock of hair from a naval hero of the Napoleonic Wars were stolen in a burglary in northern England, police said Wednesday.

The break-in at the Lord Mayor‘s Mansion House in Newcastle occurred overnight Monday, The Northern Echo reported. Police estimated the total value of the haul at 150,000 pounds (about $225,000), although many of the items would be hard to sell.

The thieves broke in through the cellar, investigators said.

The Nobel medallion was awarded in 1934 to Arthur Henderson, the first Labor member of Parliament to serve in the Cabinet. Henderson, who grew up in Newcastle, was honored for his work with the World League of Peace and for leading the Geneva Disarmament Conference in the early 1930s.

The lock of hair was taken from the head of Vice Adm. Cuthbert Collingwood, a native of Newcastle. Collingwood commanded a ship at the Battle of Trafalgar and is buried next to his friend Adm. Horatio Nelson in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Newcastle Temporary Superintendent Bruce Storey, who described many of the stolen items as “very uncommon,” said antique silverware was also taken. He appealed to the public for help in recovering the missing items.

“The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 93 times to 124 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2012 and so the stolen item is extremely rare, recognizable and historically important,” he said. (UPI)