The British Museum in London has returned a stolen ancient statue to Sudan after a Sudanese man took it to the museum with a view to selling it.

The man said the statue had been discovered by a friend of his at a site in Sudan and that he had been asked to take it out of the country.

An expert at the British Museum said the story aroused his suspicions as he did not believe any artefact of such quality could be legally exported.

He then identified the piece as a statue that had been unearthed in 1916 and displayed in museums in Sudan until it was stolen in 1995.

The 20-inch statue, carved in black stone, represents Heqa-em-sasen, an Egyptian viceroy, who lived some 3,500 years ago.

It's believed to be worth about $16,000. The man who took it to the British Museum was arrested, but has since been released for lack of evidence.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service