Man pleads guilty to burglary of Damien Hirst studio

A man has pleaded guilty to the burglary of a studio belonging to artist Damien Hirst.

Liam Middleton-Gomm, 36, broke into Thames Wharf Studios in west London on June 30 and stole around £5,000 worth of goods – including paintings, electronic items, clothing and a pram.

Some of these items were later found at his father’s home.

Middleton-Gomm, of no fixed abode, admitted two counts of burgling the riverside studio at a hearing at Kingston Crown Court on Friday.

Leslie Gomm, 62, of Fulham, west London, previously pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods for his son’s benefit between June 29 and July 8.

Samir Pasha, for Gomm, told the court that the total value of the items taken from the studios amounted to £5,210 but only around £500 worth of goods were recovered from his client’s address.

The defendants, who appeared in the dock together, will be sentenced at a hearing at the same court on October 30.

Middleton-Gomm also pleaded guilty on Friday to the burglary of homes on July 9 and July 17, as well as the attempted burglary of a property on July 9.

Bristol-born, Leeds-raised artist Hirst came to attention in 1988 when he was a student at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he conceived and curated the group exhibition Freeze.

Hirst’s best known artwork includes a pickled shark, a rotting cow’s head and diamond-encrusted skull.

He took home the prestigious Turner Prize in 1995 for his formaldehyde-preserved cow and calf, called Mother And Child, Divided.