A Turner watercolour of Rievaulx Abbey, stolen during an armed robbery, is back where it belongs at York City Art Gallery.

GLASS ACT: York City Art Gallery technician Terry Jones reflects in the glass of the display case housing the restored Turner watercolour of Rievaulx Abbey

The painting is one of 20 grabbed in the raid earlier this year.

While some were undamaged and re-hung shortly afterwards, others had to go away for repair and restoration.

The Turner, understood to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, is the first to be returned to the gallery and it will go on public display again from tomorrow morning in an upstairs gallery.

"I am thrilled and delighted that it is back," said curator, Richard Green.

"I know that the owner who wishes it to remain on public display at the gallery, is delighted as well."

He said the painting had been slightly damaged in the top right-hand corner but the damage is no longer apparent to the untrained eye.

"It's a miracle that it sustained so little damage," said Mr Green.

He said it was possible for the restoration to be carried out quickly because the painting was insured. It would take considerably longer for the other damaged paintings, all of them oils, to be repaired and re-hung in the gallery. "I would not expect them back until the end of 2000," said Mr Green.

The Turner is vulnerable to continuous bright light and so will be kept in a glass case, covered by a cloth which can be removed by visitors wanting to see the painting.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.