AN INQUISITIVE dog has been hailed a hero after sniffing out antique violin bows worth £110,000 stolen from an Oxford man as he slept on a train.

Nine-year-old former racing greyhound Angel earned her owner Chris Laflin a reward of £5,000 by sniffing out the case containing the 11 bows.

Father-of-three Mr Laflin, 40, at first thought they were worthless items which had been dumped in the undergrowth in Bourne Park, Ipswich.

Friends told him later a local newspaper had reported that the historic bows had earlier been stolen from Oxford musician Peter Oxley, 49, as he dozed on a train.

Mr Laflin, a handyman at a steel fabrication business has now handed the violin bows to British Transport Police so they can be returned to Mr Oxley later this week.

Angel stumbled across the brown violin bow case stuffed inside a black bin liner on her daily walk as dusk fell last Wednesday.

Mr Laflin has likened his pet to mongrel dog Pickles who found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy in a garden in Norwood, south London, before the 1966 World Cup. He said: “Angel is inquisitive like any other dog and is always sniffing around when we go out for a walk.

“She looked across at this case which was just lying in the undergrowth and my attention was drawn to it just as it was getting dark.

“I didn’t take much notice at first, but as we passed it for a second time on our way home, I thought I would pick it up even though it looked like rubbish.

“When I opened it up at home, I saw all these really old violin bows. There was no paperwork to say where they had come from.

“I assumed they were virtually worthless and stuck the case in my shed. My wife Toni told me they just looked tatty.

“I was planning to make enquiries to find out if anyone had lost them, but I did not round to it because I was having a hectic week.

“It was only when I mentioned to workmates on Monday that they told me about the newspaper and story and I realised just how valuable they were.

“I’m still shaking because I can’t believe I found something worth so much. It is just like when the missing World Cup was found by a dog.

Mr Laflin now plans to spend his reward money on a family holiday next year and some special treats for Angel.

Mr Oxley, 49, who is one of Britain’s leading bow makers and restorers was travelling with the bows from London’s Liverpool Street Station to Ipswich when they disappeared on October 4.

He believes an opportunistic thief saw he was asleep and stole the case from an overhead luggage rack before jumping off the train.

Most of the French and English bows which dated back to 1820 were owned by collectors who had left them in his care for restoration or to see if he could find a buyer for them.

The most valuable was a rare Pierre Simon bow made in 1870 and worth £35,000.

Mr Oxley said: “It is fantastic news that they have been found and I am delighted that I will be getting them back soon.

“I will certainly be paying the reward to this gentleman once I get the bows back this week and the police confirm that he was the genuine finder.

“I hope that he buys a nice big bone for his dog.”

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