Treasured W G Turner's watercolour of Rievaulx Abbey, stolen and damaged in January's raid on York City Art Gallery, is set to return.

The painting, called Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire, is one of a series of Turner's known as the Picturesque Views of England and Wales.

It was smashed out of its frame by gun-wielding robbers who raided the gallery in January.

Twenty paintings were taken, many slashed from their frames, but all were recovered at an industrial estate near Rotherham in May.

The Turner is the first of the damaged paintings to be returned and will go back on display next week.

Richard Green, the gallery's curator, said: "The damage was confined to an abrasion to the paper in one corner.

"That was a miracle given what could have happened to it because it was knocked out of its frame and managed to lose its cardboard mount so it was out in the world completely unprotected.

"When you think of how vulnerable it was it's amazing the damage was so limited."

Mr Green said as soon as the paintings were recovered the owner of the Turner, a private collector, immediately said it should go back on display in the gallery.

He said: "It's marvellous that it was recovered and the owner has agreed to its staying here."

Meanwhile Mr Green said it would take until at least the end of 2000 before all the paintings were back on the walls in a restored condition.

He said: "Four paintings were not damaged and went straight back on display but others have gone away for treatment and other have still to go away.

"The Turner is really the first of the paintings that needed restoration which has returned to the gallery."

The Friends of York City Art Gallery group launched the official restoration programme in November.

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