Wandless magician reunited with stolen tricks

A magician left wandless has been reunited with his bag of tricks that vanished from outside a venue in which he was due to perform.

Matthew Le Mottee, from Cambridge, was preparing to perform in the city on 24 September when his bag full of props he had collected over several years disappeared.

After sharing his ordeal with the BBC, he was contacted by a woman called Julie who had spotted the bag dumped in the corner of a nearby yoga studio's car park.

The magician was reunited with most of his props, but urged people to keep an eye out for his handmade wand and a set of cups and balls which were still missing.

Le Mottee had been due to perform at the Clayton Hotel, close to the city's railway station, when the bag was taken.

Le Mottee said the bag contained "prized possessions" from previous high-profile performances such as at last year's World Championship of Magic.

He said the response from other magicians had been "remarkable".

"I've had so many messages and people have been sending me things for free to get me back on my feet because I've got bookings coming up," he told Louise Hulland on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

"Thank you ever so much to Julie," he added. "You're an absolute saviour."

Le Mottee was named Close-up Magician of the Year by the Magic Circle in 2017.

When speaking to the BBC at the time, he said it was a "highlight" of his career.

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