Fake Of Stolen Cezanne Causes Stir

Pub landlord Nigel Ashby had a brush with the law after painting a copy of a stolen £3 million Cezanne masterpiece as a joke.

Keen artist Nigel,43,decided he could do better after seeing a story about the theft of the painting,Auvers-Sur-Oise.

To give his customers a laugh,Nigel hung the painting up in the lounge room.

He put a sign under his own work of art saying "One previous careless owner.No reserve.All reasonable offers considered."

He said "There were only a few people in the pub at the time but just a few hours later the police arrived.

"They said 'Mr Ashby,we have received a report regarding a stolen painting' so I told them to come and look at it.

"I led them on,talking about the painting's bold use of colour,etc,and they knew instantly that it was a joke."

A spokeswoman for his local police force said "The incident room rang us and asked whether it would be possible to just check it out.

"We did not think there was anything in it but would have felt worse if there was and nothing had been done.

"We went down to the pub and,as expected,it was just the landlord's little joke."