Stolen Munch statue head returns

The Scream was stolen in an armed robbery in August

The head from a bust of artist Edvard Munch has been returned after it was stolen from near his grave in Norway.

It was taken on 18 November from Our Saviour's Cemetery in Oslo but the head was placed back on the statue with a neck tie on Thursday, said police.

The theft of the Arne Durban sculpture came nearly three months after two of Munch's masterpieces, The Scream and Madonna, were stolen from a museum.

The paintings were taken during an armed robbery and have not been found.

The Munch Museum in Oslo could be shut until next summer while it introduces drastic security measures after the theft of its most famous painting.

Broad daylight

Security at the museum was criticised after the robbery in August.

Masked men carried out the raid in daylight in full view of visitors. One of the men is said to have threatened staff with a pistol.

The men cut the wires attached to the pictures. That set off an alarm in a local police station but not in the gallery itself.

The thieves walked out of the front door and drove off in a waiting car.

A report recommended that up to 5m kroner (£420,000) be spent on changes, including a labyrinth, an outside guard post and glass frames bolted to the walls.