A Sussex man has been cleared of taking part in a plot to steal and sell on artworks valued at £1.5 million.

A jury at Northampton Crown Court took just two hours 20 minutes to return not guilty verdicts in relation to Frank Delacey and Richard Westbrook.

Delacey and Westbrook, 30, of Aldwick Gardens, Bognor, were accused of being part of a gang who stole 88 paintings from a private collector in January last year and then tried to sell some to an art dealer.

The paintings were taken from a property in Northamptonshire which, the trial heard, security firm boss Westbrook was guarding at the time.

Included were a number by the artist L S Lowry, who is known for his "matchstick men", including one entitled Cornershop valued at £320,000.

Delacey, 49, of Devonshire Road, Bolton, denied two counts of handling stolen goods.

Westbrook pleaded not guilty to a single count of conspiracy to handle stolen paintings.

A third man, Christopher Whalley, 47, of High Street, Queenborough, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge.