A HULL man who was jailed for his links to a raid on a stately home, in which priceless antiques were stolen, has had his sentence cut.
Jaroslaw Urbanski, 26, was jailed for five years at Hull Crown Court in September after he admitted handling stolen goods in relation to the £200,000 theft from Cliffe Park Hall in Macclesfield.
Among the items taken from the home were a gold ceremonial sword once belonging to Saddam Hussein and a suit of armour worn by Oliver Cromwell.
The stolen pieces also included an ancient cannon and other items that had been collected by 79-year-old Brian Dalley.
Urbanski was later captured on CCTV directing the unloading operation at T&H Container Storage in Leads Road, east Hull.
But yesterday Urbanski, of Heathfield Square in Hull, saw his sentence cut to four years at London's Criminal Appeal Court.
The court heard how Urbanski was not part of the gang that stormed into Mr Dalley's home, nor did he play any part in planning the raid.
Urbanski's legal team argued that his five-year term was "significantly too long" in light of his limited role in the operation.
Lord Justice Davis said: "He [Urbanski] must have known that the items he was handling had come from a professionally planned burglary."
Mr Justice Simon, who was sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Mr Justice Holgate, said Urbanski's initial sentence was "manifestly excessive".
Mr Dalley, 79, the owner of the castle, was tied to a medieval chair and tortured during a five-hour ordeal.
Hours after the heist, the goods were unloaded in east Hull.
Another Hull man, Devidas Bapkauskas, 27, was jailed for seven years and three months for firearms and drugs offences after being linked to a gun found in the container.
Police are continuing to hunt members of the seven-strong "highly professional" gang, who carried out the aggravated burglary, which began just after 8pm on September 27, 2013.
The stolen items, which Mr Dalley had collected over his lifetime, were valued at £200,000.
Mr Dalley, who was not insured, had built the collection as an alternative to a pension or savings and said he had been left virtually penniless.
The thieves, who packed the goods in bubble wrap, found so much loot they also stole Mr Dalley's van to cart it away.
Seven men, wearing green tops and black trousers, are believed to have taken part in the raid.
Police searched the east Hull container storage on October 17, recovering some of the antiques and a gun.
They also found "prolific quantities" of false Lithuanian passports.
Urbanski was arrested on May 20, 2014, after a review of the site's CCTV.
After the sentencing in September, Mr Dalley appealed for anyone with information about any of the items that had not been recovered to contact police.
Missing pieces included an original painting of a child called Time For A Nap, a 14ft elephant gun, an Indian matchlock gun, Scottish broadswords and an Indian snake horn with ruby eyes.
Call police with information on 101.
