WORKS of art by Bolton artist Thomas Moran were among the pieces forged by the family.

When arrested, Shaun Greenhalgh bragged to police that he could produce a convincing replica of the local artist's famous landscapes in just 30 minutes.

In fact, he created a number of watercolours which were forgeries of Moran's landscapes of Yellowstone Park in the United States. Police believe up to 40, worth up to £10,000, were created by Greenhalgh, six or seven of which are unaccounted for.

Among the other items are:

  • Yellow marble fragments of an Assyrian relief, purporting to date back to between 800 to 600 years BC. But experts at the British Museum spotted a glaring spelling mistake and that horses were wearing modern reins. Experts found the patina on the marble was created with tea and clay.
  • A pastel work by LS Lowry, named The Meeting House, that the Greenhalgh family claimed was given to Olive as a 21st birthday present by her gallery owner father. Experts said it was not genuine and it was sold for several hundred pounds as a replica. However, the piece eventually changed hands for £70,000 when another owner claimed it was an original.
  • A silver tray the family claimed was the Risley Park Lanx, an intriguing artefact discovered in Derbyshire in the 18th century and since lost. Tests revealed it was partly made of Roman silver, but experts believe the family melted down coins to make it. The tray was purchased and displayed by the British Museum in the knowledge that it was a copy of the original.
  • A piece by British sculptor Barbara Hepworth entitled Goose that has been photographed but lost in the late 1920s. The family claimed it was given to the family by the curator of a museum in Leeds 30 years later.
  • A Samuel Peploe painting sold for £20,000. The buyer became suspicious when paint flaked off and cancelled the cheque. The Edinburgh-born painter, who died in 1935, was best known for his landscapes.