MBE medal riddle as crook hands in historic gong awarded by George V

Police are trying to find the rightful owner of an MBE which was handed in by an offender. The criminal, who is taking part in West Midlands Police's Crime Free Programme, gave up the 80-year-old medal as part of the conditions of the course.

After inspecting the award, officers discovered it was awarded by King George V and believe it may have been passed down through a family's generations. But. despite checking with official Royal channels, it has been unable to locate where and when the MBE award was stolen.

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Pc Paul Welch, from the Crime Free Team, said: "This MBE is potentially over 80-years-old, and we believe it may have been passed down by whoever received it.

"We have tried to reach out to potential owners and also spoke with St James’ Palace, but we have so far been unable to identify the owner. It is a prestigious award, and so we would like to reunite it with the owner."

The Crime Free Team targets individuals who are engaged in prolific, non-violent burglary offending. The participants are given a deferred sentence and enter an intensive community sentence plan tailored to their needs.

As part of the programme, the individual is given the opportunity to admit to previous offending, and they must give back the property that was stolen. Anyone with information or anyone who thinks they can help, can contact police via Live Chat on the force website, or by calling 101, quoting crime reference number 20/514878/23