A “PRICELESS” coin collection and other precious artifacts in the trust of Sefton Council are feared to have been stolen from the public.

Council bosses admit they have no idea what has become of the Dethick-Brown collection of rare Roman coins, which was housed at the Botanic Gardens Museum, and have reported the loss to the police. A host of other items including rare Victorian and early American coins, Egyptian antiquities, oil paintings and birds’ eggs are said to be missing or damaged.

Tory candidate for Meols ward in the May elections, Mike Swift, has accused public officials of being “asleep at the wheel”. At the Southport Area Committee last Wednesday he asked for reassurance that efforts would be made to find the missing items.

Mr Swift was told about the missing artifacts by coin expert Alan Dawson, secretary of Ormskirk and West Lancs Numismatic Society, who reported the apparent loss of the Dethick-Brown collection to the council in November.

His reply from head of leisure services, John Taylor, said: “Despite a thorough search of the museum and the art gallery, the strong rooms at Bootle and Southport Town Halls and enquires made at other museums likely to have been interested in borrowing it at the time, the collection has not been found. Read full Champion Newspapers Article