Musician has her 300-year-old €1.4m violin stolen in London

World-famous Korean-born musician Min-Jin Kym made a shocking discovery at the Pret A Manger cafe at Euston station, London - her 300-year-old violin had been stolen.

The 1696 Antonio Stradavarius, valued at €1.4m had been taken, along with Kym's €74,000 Pecatte bow. According to Pret A Manger worker Hafid Salah, the musician and her friend had been distracted at the time of the theft: “She was distracted by her iPhone and computer before it was stolen. She and her friend were on computers and iPhones and not looking at their bags.

“She came up to me at the counter and said ‘Have you seen my bag, have you seen my bag?’ I didn’t see anything that had happened. She said ‘My bag is gone’.

Sarah Ottley, Manager of the Musical Instrument Division at Lark Insurance Broking Group, told the London Times: “Instruments like this are almost impossible to replace as they are so unique. However, this does mean they are easily recognisable by dealers or repairers." Insurers have placed a £15,000 reward for the return of the instrument.

Kym, 32, became the youngest ever recipient of a foundation scholarship at the Royal College of Music aged just 16.