A £1.2m Antonio Stradivarius violin, which was stolen in London’s Euston railway station in November 2010, has been found by British Transport Police. Police said the 1696 Antonio Stradivarius instrument was recovered from a property in the Midlands last week and is now being held at a secure location in the capital after it was verified by experts.

The instrument, which dates from 1696, was taken from violinist Min-Jin Kym at a Pret a Manger café along with a Peccatte bow, worth £62,000, and another bow worth £5000.

Korean-born Ms Kym, 35, said: “It’s been a very difficult journey; I still can’t quite believe what has happened. The loss of the instrument, and the acute responsibility I felt, was at the back of my mind at every moment of the day.

“I’d played the instrument since I was a teenager, so it’d been a huge part of my identity for many years.

“The theft was a crushing blow and the detectives in the case had always, quite rightly, been very careful not to give me false hope. When they told me the good news, it didn’t feel real.

“I’ve now gone from devastation to the other end of the scale – an incredible feeling of elation that hasn’t left me. I’m still feeling the butterflies in my stomach and am on cloud nine.”