Video: Harborough man reunited with guitar stolen 10 years ago
Amazed owner Dave Allen, who had intended to auction the guitar for charity, said this week: “I’m ecstatic”.
The stolen Fender guitar, signed by 10 rock greats including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and Mark Knopfler and valued at £20,000 was being sold by a house clearance firm in Leicestershire, who were unaware of the guitar’s history.
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Hide AdA friend of Dave’s spotted the one-off guitar on eBay, and it was collected by Market Harborough police and given back to Dave.
Sergeant John Weston, stationed in Market Harborough, said: “We are pleased to have played a role in ensuring the safe recovery of the guitar and we now hope that it can go on to raise money for Rainbows hospice as was its original intention.”
A leading auction house in London has expressed an interest in the guitar.
Dave told the Mail: “I was gutted when the guitar was lost - I’d spent a year collecting the signatures.
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Hide Ad“On this occasion in 2007 I’d sent it by courier to Mark Knopfler - the first time I’d not had someone accompany it - and it was ‘lost in the post’ shall we say.
"I couldn’t believe it when it turned up two weeks ago. The house-clearance firm had no idea what they’d got - the signatures are not easy to read, and of course even if you could make them out, you wouldn’t know if they were genuine.”
The house clearance firm had paid £35 for it, and hoped to sell it for a few hundred.
Now Dave plans to add to the guitar signature collection - he’s hoping for Keith Richards and Paul McCartney - before selling it in December.
“It’s great to have it back, all from one little picture on the internet” said Dave. “I really thought I’d never see it again.”