A carved stone statue of Queen Victoria missing from the Houses of Parliament for over 100 years was whisked away by former Prime Minister William Gladstone, a discovery suggests.

The 5ft 6in tall figure was spotted during a routine valuation by an auctioneer 97 miles from the Palace of Westminster in the shrubbery of a property in Hampshire - a home once owned by one of Mr Gladstone's descendants.

The present-day owner of the home in Ringwood acquired the statue when he bought the land in 1971 - and it has remained in the back garden ever since.