Ammon News - Sledgehammer-wielding thieves who smashed their way into Blenheim Palace managed to steal a £2.8m gold toilet in just five minutes, a court has heard.

The toilet, an artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was fully functioning while on exhibit at Blenheim Palace - the Oxfordshire country house where Sir Winston Churchill was born - when it was stolen in September 2019.

The 18-carat gold toilet, titled America, weighed approximately 98kg and had been insured for the price of $6m (£4.75 m), the prosecution told Oxford Crown Court.

The gold in itself was believed to be worth about £2.8m at the time of the theft.

Michael Jones, 39, from Oxford, pleaded not guilty in January to stealing artwork in an overnight raid in the early hours of 14 September 2019.

Frederick Sines, 36, also known as Frederick Doe, of Winkfield, Windsor, Berkshire, and Bora Guccuk, 41, from west London, each deny one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

The court heard that the sledgehammers were left at the scene. AP