FOUR outdoor sculptures by Henry Moore, including the world-famous King and Queen, may be fitted with electronic tracking devices after a spate of art thefts in England.

The 6,000-acre Glenkiln Estate, near Dumfries, in southwest Scotland, is home to several important works of art by Moore, Jacob Epstein and Auguste Rodin that are displayed in open countryside.

Fears for the security of the collection, which includes Rodin’s John The Baptist and Epstein’s The Visitation, have grown after 20 art thefts of mainly bronze sculptures from various sites across southern England.

The thefts have included Moore’s £3 million Reclining Figure, which was stolen from the Henry Moore Foundation, in Hertfordshire, in December. Another Moore has since been taken from a site in London.

The Glenkiln sculptures sit in exposed, open countryside near Glenkiln reservoir at the end of a winding single track road on the estate.

Although the collection is open to the public, there are no signposts because the original intention was for ramblers to stumble across the artwork by accident.

They were collected between 1951 and 1976 by the late Sir William Keswick, father of the current laird, Henry Keswick, and a close friend of Moore.

The artist often stayed at Glenkiln and the idea for the outdoor sculpture park was his. Thomas Florey, the land manager at Glenkiln Estate, confirmed that security had been tightened and the use of tracking devices and micro-chips had been considered.

“We keep security under review at all times and it had definitely been increased,” he said, although he was not prepared to disclose what measures were already in place.

“There is only a certain amount you can do out on a hillside and there is very grave concern, particularly after the theft of the Henry Moore statues in England. We have taken certain steps already and are in very close liaison with the local police, who go out there to keep an eye on things.”

Despite the obvious value of the sculpture collection, the estate has faced only one criminal act: in 1985 when Moore’s King and Queen was decapitated by vandals.

The heads were found several years later in London and replaced. No criminal charges were brought, but Sir William considered bringing his sculptures indoors at that time.

Currently the estate is resisting proposals from tourism chiefs to increase visitor numbers to the Glenkiln sculpture park, fearing it will destroy the atmosphere of the place.

Mr Florey said: “There is a concern because more people want to come and visit them. The statues are not designed to be visited by huge number of people but people are free to go and look at them.