Two men have been jailed for their roles in the theft of a £4.75 million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace. A gang of thieves smashed their way in and ripped out the fully-functioning 18-carat gold toilet during a raid in 2019.

James Sheen, 40, and Michael Jones, 39, were part of the gang who planned and carried out the burglary of the Oxfordshire stately home. The fully-functioning toilet was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and was a star attraction in an exhibition at Blenheim Palace, the house where Sir Winston Churchill was born. The heist took place hours after a glamorous launch party and the distinctive toilet was split up or melted down and sold on soon after it was stolen and has never been recovered. 

The toilet was stolen by sledgehammer-wielding thieves who smashed their way in, Oxford Crown Court heard. They drove through locked wooden gates into the grounds of the palace in two stolen vehicles before breaking in through a window.

Entitled America, the toilet weighed approximately 98 kilogrammes, was insured for six million US dollars (£4.75 million) and was made from gold which was itself worth about £2.8 million.

Passing sentence, Judge Ian Pringle KC said: “This bold and brazen heist took no more than five-and-a-half minutes to complete. 

“America has never been seen again.”  

Oxford Crown Court heard James Sheen was already serving over 19 years’ imprisonment for attacks on cash machines, a museum burglary and fraud and was not due for release until 2032.

“I say straight away I have no doubt at all that the sentence I pass must be consecutive to the sentence you are currently serving,” Judge Ian Pringle KC said in his sentencing remarks

“Not to do so would be to send out a message that you did this without any penalty at all.”

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