A STATUE weighing half-a-ton which was stolen from a stately home in East Yorkshire and later recovered 4,000 miles away in Chicago was today restored to its rightful plinth.

Sir Tatton Sykes commissioned a world-wide search for the life-size Goddess of Harvest after it disappeared from the grounds of Sledmere House, in East Yorkshire, in December 2000.

The Sykes family, famous for its racing and breeding of thoroughbred horses, has lived at Sledmere for 250 years. The statue has stood there for a number of years.

Police said it was extremely valuable and very heavy and would have "taken a team with some muscle to steal it".

This year, after a long search, involving sending photographs to museums and police forces in 182 countries, a Chicago dealer identified it. It had been shipped by sea to the US.

After its "repatriation" back to Sledmere House it was restored to its proper place today. Special security has been installed to deter any thieves who try to carry it off again.

Sir Tatton, who recruited a former member of the Scotland Yard art and antiques squad to find the statue, said: "We were devastated when it disappeared. We are relieved and delighted to welcome it back home."

Updated: 10:46 Monday, June 28, 2004