Thieves dropped the gold crown after breaking into the Louvre last October and stealing French crown jewels worth millions.

The Paris museum issues the first pictures of the crown since the theft, saying it was left "badly deformed".

The crown, which the thieves dropped as they fled, was 'crushed and significantly misshapen,' the museum said in a statement.

The Louvre Museum in Paris announced it will begin restoration work on a crown that was damaged during the October heist of the French crown jewels.

Thieves dropped the gold crown after breaking into the Louvre last October and stealing French crown jewels worth millions.