This is wonderful! Like another commentator, it gives me a smile to read of such antics. I still have to hide my smiles when I walk around art galleries and hear the critics analysing childish scrawl on the walls, or sit in restaurants watching people sampling their "fine wines".

Makes one question the authenticity of anything, really.

Paul S. Webb, Alicante, Spain

The question is who was Shaun Greenhalgh working for beforehand. Where did he get his experience? I don t myself need an answer to that question, though I wouldn t particularly know who it might have been.

Henry Percy, London, UK

This is a very amusing story. I don't think this incident really merits a jail sentence. I this this artist shows skill as he clomost certainly had less equipment than the artists who's work he forged. Why are the police spending their time on something as petty and completely harmless act?

G Handy, Newbury, Berkshire, UK,

Bolton council and the British Museum should get over themselves and instead the council with British Museum help should recognise this obvious local talent and set up a Museum of Forgeries. Might be a valuable tourist attraction for the Town!
P.S. They should also quickly get the film rights too, wonderful story

Roger Blinko, Auckland, New Zealand

I am impressed by this story: as much as i hate to say it, because i appreciate art and i don't really care about names, this guy deserves his sentence.

on a side note, way to go british museum, next time spend that money on police and you will kill two birds in one shot

Bruno Figares, montevideo, Uruguay

4 years and eight months is a rather harsh sentence for this sort of crime, most violent criminals and drug dealers don´t get that sort of sentence nowadays. Its just another indication of the ridiculous society we now live in.

P Jessop, London,

Excellent - it simply shows what a bogus set of values the British Museum and others espouse. I wonder how many people in Bolton facing vandalism and loutish behaviour when they phone the Police are told there is nobody available to come out. They simply do not have the money to cope with the crime - if they spent less on buying dodgy works of art in the back streets of Bolton perhaps they would have the money. What to buy a Rembrant guv I know just the man in Pemberton guv, knock you of half dozen cheap - what colour do you want em mate. Ready for Saturday no problem.

MJC, Pas de Calais,

Infact, if their work[s] is as good as the original artists why should it be worth less? Are people paying for the quality of work or the artists name? Imo, their (fakers) works should be valued more because they created it with no resources and in record time. This alone is a special talent. They have certainly gained my respect.

Mohammed, London, UK

Last summer I had a good clearout of my attic and found an old tent.
Recently I found a side of lamb at the bottom of my freezer.
Should I destroy these items as quickly as possible before the arts and antiques unit of Scotland Yard charge me with 'faking' works of art by Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst?

G J BUNTON, SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE

It seems crime does pay, £850k divided by a realistically maximum of two years in jail! I wonder how they will pay off the legal costs, perhaps like a certain other art forgery case the Judge will pay the forger to "knock up" something for him.

Robert, Goodrich, Herefordshire

Free the Greenhalgh three, they should all be appointed diectors of the Bolton art gallery. Think of how much they could save the council tax payers.

K Greenhalgh, Beauly, Inverness-shire

There is something rather quaint about knocking up an Egyptian statue in your garden shed then selling it to the local council. The mangled stream of corporate double speak issued by the council official as an excuse for having being fooled rather reinforces the view that these officials are buffoons of the first order. Good luck to the Greenhaighs. Excellent stunt .

Simon , Chatham, kent

These type of stories always make me smile. All those extremely clever pompous know alls and art experts taken for a ride by ordinary people with a talent for making authentic look alikes in the garden shed

The same thing happens with all those wine tasters who are supposed to know all about fine wines at fifty quid a bottle and can't recognise a bottle of wine from Tesco's for £3.50 !.

Serves 'em right, they've got more money than brains.

Phil de Buquet, Newport, England

This guy is hardly a criminal and should be hailed as a great artist and not sent to prison. He should be released immediately!

Ian, Station Town, UK

It is a pity that they did not send all the money to the poor and hungry Africans. Later on, it would be a phantasmagorical scene watching fat English investigators searching for the evidence among the emaciated people who have more important things to think about then the West's obsession with arts and status.

Bess, Uppsala, Sweden

Well that's got to be the final straw! Buyer beware!!!
While the Greenhalghs have shown talent for copying, so have those purchasing with 'whoever's' money have shown their downright basic ignorance of qualification. However that is not so much my point as is the complete waste of the police and criminal justice systems time!
While this con & greed investigation has been going on, costing god knows how much, millions of real victims of crime have gone ignored with the most basic of offences being left undetected.
I'm afraid the general public don't care much that these copy artists will have made hundreds of thousands of pounds because it doesn't affect them like low life thieving, robbing, violent scum that crawl our streets daily and take from people what is important.
No doubt the proud detectives in the fancy art & whatever squad can pat themselves on the back for a job well done. Get out and investigate some real crime that isn't funded by pompous pretentious art luvies.

SC, South Shields, Tyne and Wear

Good luck to them.I applaud their activities

Howard, Hounslow, UK