Thieves grab old loot

THIEVES stole about $30,000 worth of antiques in Hervey Bay over the weekend, but if they think they'll have an easy time cashing in their loot, they'd better think again.

The pieces were stolen from Wide Bay Antiques and Collectables on Friday night, but the owner said some of them were so rare they would be extremely hard to turn over.

"The police told me it was rather foolish of them to take what they did," store owner Nicholas Simpson said.

For example, one of the items stolen was an 150-year-old bronze Gregorian statue worth $10,000 - one of only 50 in the world.

"If they try to sell it, people in the know will recognise it," Mr Simpson said.

Another was an embalmed shark's head.

Other items included an old brass diver's helmet, every single clock in the store and some bars of silver.

A Hervey Bay police spokesman confirmed the incident, saying it appeared the intruders had broken into the store through the back door.

Mr Simpson said he would replace the back door as soon as possible with a heavy duty one reinforced with a steel plate.

The stolen goods were insured.