A known art thief, he was asked to steal the painting and sell it for sixty million dollars.

The police initially assumed an expert art thief to be behind the heist.

He said the gang worked in the same way as art thieves, taking orders from unscrupulous merchants who sold the bounty to connoisseurs.

Here, however, we come to the art thief's buyer of last resort: the insurance company.

Others had been submerged by reservoirs or looted by art thieves.

A brave pal tracked down and confronted the thieves - who initially wanted 5,000 for their return.

He confronted the thief but was attacked and left with serious head injuries on the drive.

The homeowner, aged 68, armed himself with a bow and arrow and confronted the thief as he tried to reverse out of the garage.

The four hide themselves in the bank vault and confront the thieves when they show up.

Because knowing he'd have to stand there with a stolen mattress, in full view of reception, might embarrass a would-be thief into thinking twice.

The prospect of wading through raw sewage deters many a would-be thief, say the engineers who spend all day down in the muck.

The shopkeeper reached for a box under the counter and threw a handful of chilli powder in the would-be thief's face.

Would-be thieves have since tried to nick the cycle, which sports a distinctive basket, from outside his house and at a restaurant.

Would-be thieves did not wander round with helmets on the off chance of finding a motorcycle to steal; they were insufficiently organised or motivated to do it.