A SAGA surrounding the ownership of a pearl-encrusted mouse will once again return to the courtroom.

The tiny mouse, which is believed to be worth £90,000, has been at the centre of a criminal case, in which an antiques dealer was cleared of handling stolen goods.

Experts at the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, believed the 200-year-old mouse was the same one which was stolen from the museum in April 1994.

But the case against Kenneth Markworth, from Lewes, in Sussex, collapsed after the judge at Luton Crown Court ordered the jury to return a not guilty verdict in June.

Judge John Slack felt the evidence against Mr Markworth was "thoroughly unsatisfactory", and the mechanical rodent has since been in police custody at Bishop Auckland.

Now, one of the trustees of the Bowes Museum, John McDonnell QC, is leading a team of lawyers to prepare its case to submit to a Police Property Act hearing, which is expected to be held at a North-East magistrates' court later this year.

The hearing will decide the ownership of the mouse, which is also expected to be contested by London auction house SJ Philips.

Dr Anne Allen, of the Bowes Museum, said: "We expected to have had the mouse back by now, but it is still in police custody, and it will probably remain there until it goes back to court.

"We were hoping to make it the centrepiece of our recent Hidden Treasures exhibition, and we still get visitors asking where the famous mouse is."