Cambridgeshire Police have revealed that 18 valuable Chinese works of art have been stolen from the Fitzwilliam Museum. The items are from the Fitzwilliam Museum's permanent collection, and mostly made of jade and it is believed that they are in total worth millions of pounds.

The police have released the information that a group of people were involved in the break-in and theft of the items at the museum at around 7:30pm on Friday. A spokesperson for the museum has said an investigation is under way into the theft, with forensic examinations having been carried out at the scene and CCTV footage currently being examined. Also, police patrols have been increased in the area around the Fitzwilliam.

Among the items stolen from the Fitzwilliam were six pieces from the Ming dynasty and eight pieces from the Qing dynasty, and although their exact value has not been released due to the museum's policy of not attaching monetary values to artefacts in its collection a spokesperson for Cambridgeshire police has said that "the items stolen are very valuable and are of great cultural significance".

The police have emphasised that they are highly prioritising the recovery of the pieces, and  are keen to hear from anyone who was in or around the Fitzwilliam Museum between 6pm and 8pm and may have heard or seen anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.