Burglars stole a masterpiece by one of Britain’s great painters in the latest of three raids on the same home.

Thieves broke into the communal hallway of a townhouse in an exclusive part of Brighton to steal the £12,000 artwork.

Resident Gordon Anderson has now appealed to any art dealers who might be offered the painting to help him relocate the missing masterpiece.

Thieves broke into the seafront Brighton home on the night of September 5 and made off with the stolen painting, The Bathers by Sir Frank Brangwyn, along with another painting, door knobs and brass finger plates.

MORE:

Mr Anderson said that other nearby homes had also been targeted recently with a large marble-topped table taken from one property.

The 83-year-old inherited the paintings from leading Brangwyn expert Count William de Belleroche who previously lived in the home.

He said: “It seems it was a professional group doing this. It must have needed at least two people to take the painting, it would need more than one to stand on the staircase and take it off the wall without dropping it.

“They didn’t force the door. It seems they put their hand through the letterbox and pushed the handle down to open the door. I was always being told I was lucky living in this area and not being burgled and nowI have suffered three in a month.”

Leading expert on Sir Frank Brangwyn, Paul Liss said: “I suspect the burglars have bitten off more than they can chew and they don’t know what they have stolen. Any auction house would put it up online and it would be spotted before it went on sale, and any private buyer who does their research beforehand will pretty quickly get in contact with myself or another expert.

“Brangwyn was the most popular and well-known British artist of the first half of the 20th Century but today he is relatively little known.

“He was admired by Kandinsky, Klimt and Toulouse-Lautrec and was an apprentice of William Morris, but I think he is looked down on now because he also did metalwork, jewellery and prints, and the art market likes people who just stick to painting.”

Anyone with any information should contact Sussex Police on 101 quoting serial 0454 of 16/9 or serial 0498 of 7/8.