Solid-gold toilet thieves flushed out

Four men face charges over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from an English country house.

The convenience - dubbed "America" and valued at 4.8 million (HK$46.2 million) - was stolen from Blenheim Palace near Oxford in September 2019, right after arriving from the United States.

It was to be a star attraction in an exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan at the palace, home to the dukes of Marlborough and birthplace of Winston Churchill.

Appearing in court in Oxford on November 28 will be James Sheen, 39, on charges of burglary, conspiracy to transfer criminal property and transferring stolen property.

Michael Jones, 38, faces a charge of burglary, while Fred Doe, 35, and Bora Guccuk, 39, are accused of conspiracy to transfer stolen property.

But no word on where the toilet went. When in public use in the United States visitors booked time slots to use it - but only for three minutes at a time to limit queues. More than 100,000 people used it over 12 months at New York's Guggenheim Museum.