Two arrested as Sunderland musician reunited with prized guitar months on from theft

Trevor Sewell was left devastated after thieves stole three prized guitars, worth thousands of pounds, as he was unpacking his car in Sunderland on the evening of November 30 last year.

Mr Sewell, a winner of various awards in the USA and who has received nominations at the British Blues Awards in recognition of his music, took to social media in a bid to find the high-value guitars.

Among those who supported the appeal were North-East legend Mark Knopfler, Grammy winner Janis Ian and Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist Nils Lofgren.

Last week, one of the guitars – a gold-top Gibson Les Paul Deluxe – was found up for sale online.

A 50-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of theft, with both released under investigation.

Yesterday (Monday), officers reunited the guitar with Mr Sewell, 67, who has expressed his sincere gratitude.

He said: “I am just so thankful to the police who have managed to find one of the guitars and bring it home to me.

“It’s something that is of huge sentimental value - I've used it for the last 49 years throughout my career - so I was absolutely devastated when they were stolen.

“I never thought I’d get any of them back, so was astounded when I got the call last week from police. I was over the moon – I couldn’t believe it.

“I’d like to pass on my sincere gratitude to the officers who worked tirelessly to bring it back to me – and fingers crossed the other two that remain outstanding can be found and returned too.”

An investigation is ongoing and officers are looking to trace the two outstanding guitars – a Fender Stratocaster and a blue Santa Ana acoustic.

PC Simon Cammack, of Northumbria Police, said: “We are determined to ensure those responsible for this theft are rightly identified and brought to justice – and we would ask anybody who has any information to come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting log 929 301119. Alternatively, you can email [email protected].

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