By Lee Bottomley

Copyright bbc

Finding the trophy gone and with police struggling to find the culprits, a reward of £10 was offered but without any luck – it was never seen again.

That outcome was not a good one for the winners of the cup final, Aston Villa – they were fined £25 by the Football Association (FA) as the prize was lost while it was in their care.

The stolen cup though needed replacing so a firm was sought to produce one.

The selected business, a Birmingham company which had connections to Villa, silversmiths Vaughtons, were commissioned to make the replacement.

The founder’s grandson, Howard Vaughton, had a close connection with the trophy, having won the FA Cup with Villa in 1887 and, by 1895, he was a partner in the firm, the NFA said.

Luckily, three years before, the company had taken a plaster cast of the trophy in order to make a miniature for Wolverhampton Wanderers.