PAINTINGS worth about £3,500 have been stolen from the old cell area of Salisbury Guildhall.

The six watercolour paintings by Edwin Young were taken between the end of March and April 14.

The paintings were on loan to Salisbury City Council at the Guildhall and show various scenes of Salisbury, including the cathedral, the High Street Gate and the South Gate of The Close and Crane Bridge.

Also included were two paintings of the Old Swan Inn at Harnham.

Edwin Young was a Victorian philanthropist who lived and worked in Salisbury. On his death in 1913 he gave to the city funds to build an art gallery, an endowment for maintenance, his personal collection of art work and his own paintings, watercolours and drawings.

His art has been described as providing a unique window on rural and town life in the Victorian and Edwardian world.

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Ellerby at Salisbury Police Station on 0845 4087000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.