A FORGER who tricked the art world with a series of fakes has spoken for the first time of his regret at conning Bolton Council.

Shaun Greenhalgh crafted a fake statue, believed by experts to be an ancient Egyptian artefact called the Amarna Princess, in his garden shed.

It was passed off as a family heirloom bought in a sale of items belonging to the Earl of Egremont in 1892 and sold to Bolton Council for £440,000 after being authenticated by experts at Christie’s and the British Museum.

But the sale ended in embarrassment for museum and council staff, when in 2006 the statue was revealed as a fake.

Greenhalgh, currently serving a four-year jail term, has never spoken about the deception or his feelings about the statue.

But in the second part of our exclusive interview, based on a letter written to The Bolton News from his prison cell, we can reveal his remorse.

Greenhalgh, said: “As far as Bolton Council is concerned, may I say that any embarrassment caused to Bolton Museum and Art Gallery is greatly regretted by me and was never my intention.

“If the council wish the statue’s return, this is fine by me.”

Speaking about life once he has served his time, Greenhalgh said: “As to my future, despite some interesting offers, I am just focusing on getting through my present situation, which is ongoing to March, 2010.”

Greenhalgh emulated the work of history’s most revered artists and sculptors from the small home he shared with his elderly parents in The Crescent, Bromley Cross.

It took him just three weeks to make the statue that became known as the Amarna Princess and stood proudly in Bolton Museum for two years.

Concerns over the authenticity of the alabaster carved figure were first raised in March, 2006, when the British Museum reported the arrival of a suspicious Syrian sculpture.

The Amarna Princess was subsequently closely examined, and found to be fake.

As reported in The Bolton News yesterday, Greenhalgh, aged 48, said that as he was currently in jail, he thought it would be “inappropriate” to speak in detail about his case.

He said that was the reason he believed he and his family had been portrayed in a wholly unrecognisable manner.

Greenhalgh was jailed in 2007 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Investigations revealed he and his parents had cheated numerous art institutions over the course of 17 years, faking work by LS Lowry, Bolton-born artist, Thomas Moran, and sculpture, Paul Gauguin.

Police says dozens may still be in exhibitions across the world.