A galaxy of science fiction memorabilia seized from a pair of Halifax thieves was auctioned off for £25,000.
A collection of Star Wars, Star Trek, Thunderbird and Dr Who collectors' items that would impress any sci-fi nerd was seized from the home of Julie and Anthony Nickerson, who were jailed last month for their involvement in a conspiracy to steal almost £2.5m.
The pair used their ill-gotten gains to fund their lavish lifestyle, including a £500,000 home, spending £200,000 on holidays and £86,000 on two prestige cards.
An impressive collection of sci-fi toys and costumes, bought at auction for £17,000, was discovered in a designated room in the house.
Mrs Nickerson, 55, defrauded her employer, a Halifax firm thats supplies commercial laundry equipment, through her role in the accounts and finance department.
She was jailed for five years at Bradford Crown Court. Her husband Anthony was jailed for two and a half years.
Money raised by the sale of the couple's Star Wars Millenium Falcon model, Dr Who Dalek models and other memorabilia was returned to the victim.
Detective Chief Inspector Darren Minton, crime manager at Calderdale District Police, said: "The Nickersons thought they were living the high life on the stolen cash, but came crashing down to earth when they were sent to prison.
"Their convictions should serve as a warning to others that those found to be living off the proceeds of crime will not only be looking at a jail sentence, they may also have their assets confiscated.
"This was an excellent investigation by the Calderdale Proceeds of Crime Act Team and we would urge anyone who suspects that someone is living beyond their means to report them to police by calling 101."
Sci-fi memorabilia has been known to sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds at auction, with collectors' willing to part with a small fortune for that must-have item.
In 2006 a miniature model of the Starship Enterprise-D used as a prop in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Star Trek Generations Movie sold for $576,000 (£339,027) at a Christie's auction - far more than the auctioneers' prediction of $30,000 (£17,625).
![The Enterprise from Star Trek]()
The Enterprise from Star Trek (Image: Wikimedia Commons) A model of a Star Wars TIE (Twin Ion Engines) Fighter from 1977's Episode IV: A New Hope fetched $402,500 (£236,851). It broke the previous Star Wars auction record of $240,000 (£141,186) for Luke Skywalker’s Light Saber.
Imagine having one of these in your living room! A full scale model of T-800 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, complete with flashing red eyes, sold for $488,750 (£287,519).
A more retro collectors item - the original poster from science film Metropolis, released in 1927 - was sold for $690,000 (£405,255) by London’s Reel Poster Gallery. There are only four in the world, and one is hung at the Museum of Metropolitan Art in New York.
Star Wars fans, prepare to feel jealous - somewhere out there is the owner of a genuine Stormtrooper helmet fro The Empire Strikes back. The helmet - the only one made available for public sale - was sold for $276,750 (£162,853).
![Only one Stormtrooper helmet was sold from the Star Wars films]()
Only one Stormtrooper helmet was sold from the Star Wars films (Image: Wikimedia Commons) It’s memorabilia, Captain, but not as we know it! William Shatner’s used Captin Kirk Tunic from the first Star Trek series fetched $98,400 (£57,886) at auction. It had originally been given to a Trekkie who visited the set in the late 1960s.
The sale of Professor Xavier’s fibreglass and aluminium wheelchair from X Men for $135,300 (£79,593) gives a whole new meaning to the expression “hot wheels”. The chair, used by Mirfield-born actor Patrick Stewart, was the only one ever made and was sold after filming wrapped on the original X-Men film in 1999. The studio, 20th Century Fox, had to rent it back from the new owner to make X2 and X3.
![Charles Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) wheelchair had to be rented back from its new owner to make X2 and X3]()
Charles Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) wheelchair had to be rented back from its new owner to make X2 and X3 In April this year another Star Trek prop fetched more than $200,000 - a phaser used by Captain Kirk in Star Trek’s second pilot episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before. It sold for $231,000 (£135,918) - making it the second most expensive item auctioned from the original series.
The most expensive item sold off from classic Star Trek was the captain’s chair, which sold for $304,750 (£179,313) in 2008.
And in December a piece of Harrison Ford movie history sold for $200,000 at auction - the blaster gun he used as Han Solo in Star Wars. The battered-looking weapon was sold in an online auction hosted by Profiles in History.
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