A top musician has pleaded for the return of her treasured violin, which she left on a train just days before she is due to perform in the Proms in Kensington.
Jane Gordon, of Twickenham, is so desperate to be reunited with the 300-year-old instrument that she has offered a £500 reward for any information leading to its recovery.
The 37-year-old was travelling home from Waterloo on Monday evening, where she got off the train at St Margarets without the Maggini violin shortly before 7pm.
British Transport Police (BTP) said CCTV footage shows the violin, which was in a case, remained on the overhead luggage rack where she had left it for around three hours before being removed by a passenger at Queenstown Road station.
Ms Gordon, who has performed at world renowned venues including the Sydney Opera House and New York's Lincoln Center, is due to play in Proms concerts next Sunday (September 4) and the following Friday (September 9).
'It's like a member of the family'
"Fellow violinists have very kindly offered to lend me a violin but it won't be the same," she said.
"I have had it for about four years. It's like a member of my family, and the sound it makes is like a human voice."
Detective Constable Anthony Steaman, who is investigating, said he was keen to speak to the two people seen in the CCTV images who he said may have vital information.
He urged anyone who has the instrument to hand it into their local police station.
The violin is a Maggini in a black case with a label 'Gewa' on the outside. There is a pouch outside the case which contains a blank envelope with strings inside, these are labelled La Folia. The instrument also has a distinctive wooden chin rest.
There are four bows, two of which are unusual looking, and there is a small pouch at the end of the case, which contains asthma medication.
Anyone with information is asked to call BTP on 0800 405040 or to text 61016 citing reference 380 24/08/2016.
