THREE men have been reported to the procurator fiscal in connection with the theft of curling memorabilia, including an Olympic gold medal won by Rhona Martin.

 

The skipper of Great Britain's Salt Lake City Winter Games team was left devastated when the medal was stolen in April last year while it was on display at Dumfries Museum. A 1924 Olympic medal and other memorabilia worth more than £34,000 was taken in the raid.

Martin had appealed on social media for the return of her medal while the case had also featured on Crimewatch and a financial reward was offered for information leading to the discovery of the treasures.

Police Scotland said three men - aged 31, 25 and 23 - have been reported to the procurator fiscal in connection with the break-in.

However, some of the memorabilia, including Martin's medal, is still missing, police said.

Detective Inspector Bryan Lee said: "Whilst we are able to submit a report against these men to the Crown, we are continuing to make enquiries into the whereabouts of some of the outstanding property stolen in the break-in.

"At this stage some property remains outstanding, including the 2002 Winter Olympic gold medal belonging to Rhona Martin MBE. The reward offered still stands and we would be only too happy to receive a call which might help us recover these items."

Ms Martin, who goes under her maiden name of Howie, said earlier that the medal was "irreplaceable".

She said: "I believed it was part of Scotland, not just mine. I thought all the visits to schools would be worthwhile if it inspired one child to try to make a dream come true.

"Now that is the one thing I do not have. I am devastated. It was hand-finished, irreplaceable. The children loved wearing it, got a huge thrill from it."