Thief believed to have been scared off by replica mummified body

A replica of a mummified body is believed to have scared off a thief who broke into a car’s boot. The thief stole a bag containing an iPad, but the car’s owner believe he was deterred from taking more pricey items when he lifted a lid to uncover an Iron Age ‘bog body’.

Dean Patton’s silver-colored Volkswagen Passat was broken into while it was parked in Liverpool on Sunday night, while he attended a function. Mr Patton, the founder of the Big Heritage Group in Bromborough, had the replica body in the boot of his car after showcasing it at the Museum of Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. Mr Patton said: “Although it is very disappointing that we had items stolen it brings a smile to my face that whoever committed the break in was clearly scared by what they found.

“It was a replica of an Iron Age bog body. We use it for museum and school workshop purposes. They had lifted a lid and they must have ran off. The image of the bog body would give whoever saw it nightmares because it looks like a dead person. There was a head there too. Whoever broke in must have thought that they had found part of Dexter’s kill list. They didn’t know, but underneath the bog body were items that were worth thousands of pounds. So the bog body has saved the day.” The body bog replica was created from a genuine body of an Iron Age man which was found in Cheshire in the 1980s.

Mr Patton added: “They took a replica of an Iron Age axe and some pewter bracelets were taken. They wouldn’t get much at scrap for the bracelets. They have been handmade to show what people would have worn by the Vikings. The real bracelets would have been silver, but these are made of pewter so they would be disappointed when they go to Cash Converters. Only a museum expert would know what they were.  There was some pottery there that was taken too – they were 2,500 years old. I hope whoever has them just doesn’t throw them away because they look like dog biscuits.”