A tourist who paid �500 on the street for an �80,000 statue stolen from an Oxfordshire mansion has been cleared of handling stolen goods.

Israeli teacher Rosa Krol's bad luck began when she caught the wrong bus and ended up at London's Portobello Market where she decided to indulge her passion for antique shopping in April.

There she was approached by a man who offered her the bronze statue for �500.

She handed over all the cash she had on her, �477, after deciding it was probably worth six times that amount.

I didn't think anything. He needed the money. That is why he was selling it for this price

Rosa Krol

Little did she know, the statue had been stolen less than 24 hours earlier from Blenheim Palace, the Oxfordshire mansion of the Duke of Marlborough.

She headed off to the West End with the 18th Century sculpture by Massimiliano Soldani, to "sell it for a profit", London's Southwark Crown Court heard.

But a description of the statue had been circulated and staff at antique dealers Daniel Katz in central London called police when Ms Krol strolled in and offered it for sale.

Emma Lowe, prosecuting, argued the defendant must have thought it strange that a valuable statue was offered for sale by a stranger in the street for a comparatively small amount.

But Krol said she honestly believed the statue was worth no more than �3,000 and had been extremely shocked when she was arrested.

She said: "If I had thought it was stolen when I bought it, I would have given it to the police myself."

She had seen the statue as a chance to make a quick profit and never thought to ask where it had come from.

She said: "I didn't think anything. He needed the money. That is why he was selling it for this price."

The jury took less than an hour to decide she was innocent of the charge of handling stolen goods.

The statue has been returned to its mantelpiece at Blenheim Palace, where security has been increased.