A BRONZE sculpture worth £20,000 has been stolen from the most popular gallery in Scotland, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Dreaming, by the leading British pop artist Gerald Laing, was stolen from the first floor of the building on Sunday at around 4.30pm.

Officers from Strathclyde Police were called in by Glasgow Life, the body which runs the city's museums and galleries, to investigate the theft.

Glasgow Life said in a statement last night that museum staff conducting routine checks noticed that the bronze was missing, the first theft since the museum was re-opened to the public in 2006.

Another member of staff had seen the sculpture at 3.45pm, some 45 minutes before the alarm was raised.

CCTV images from a number of areas within the museum are being examined for any potential clues as to the disappearance.

The bust was on the first floor of the building, attached to a plinth by screws, near the Study Room.

The theft of metals and bronze works of art has been on the rise in recent years, with police saying the targeted theft of metal is "endemic".

Last year, the Royal Glasgow Institute's annual exhibition, now in its 150th year, was hit for the first time by theft, with the loss of a bronze sculpture, Young Meggi, by the sculptor John McKenna.

Thieves are increasingly stealing metal items such as electricity pylons, gas pipes and even manhole covers.

Dreaming would be hard to sell and may have been targeted for its nearly 13kg of bronze.

The sculpture was last valued for insurance some 10 years ago at £5000 and is now estimated to be worth around £20,000. A spokesman for Glasgow Life, said: "This was a deliberate act.

"Someone has stolen from the people of Glasgow – as with all of our collections, this work belongs to them.

"We are working with the police and other agencies and would appeal for the safe return of this work of art."

He added: "Since re-opening after refurbishment in 2006, we have welcomed more than nine million visitors to Kelvingrove and had no incidents of work being taken from public view.

"Thanks to the quick action of staff, we have been able to identify a short time frame where we believe the bronze was stolen – and are in the process of examining CCTV footage from across the museum to identify those responsible."

Laing created the work in 1979 and it was bought with the support of the National Fund for Acquisitions for Glasgow Museums in 1981. The statue weighs 12.8kg and measures 35.5cm by 20cm by 31.1cm.

Laing died in November last year at the age of 75.