A centuries-old Book of Sermons, which had been stolen from a church in Scotland, has been recovered by police in the Netherlands.

The 400-year-old book by Cardinal Bellerine was gifted to the Archdiocese in Glasgow by a priest in the early 1900s.

Although it’s unknown when the book was taken, efforts to recover it started in 2020 when Dutch police found it for sale on a website.

The book had been sold to a buyer in Italy before it was seized by police officers there.

The book was then relocated to the Scots College in Rome in April before being brought back to Scotland.

Book of Sermons / Police Scotland

Det Sgt Billy Telford, of Police Scotland's Scottish heritage crime group, said: "This is a fantastic result for the church and for all the officers involved in the investigation.

"It was an extremely interesting case to work on, tracing the book back to its roots here in Scotland.

"We don't know how it came to be for sale online, but it's now back where it belongs with a fascinating story of its journey."