"I am extremely upset," he said. "These violins were custom made and will be very difficult to replace. . . I also fear for their safety if a Birmingham City fan ever got their hands on them."

Birmingham City is one of Aston Villa's chief rivals. Both teams are based in Birmingham.

Kennedy is currently on tour, and will have to play his upcoming concerts with replacement instruments.

Kennedy began his career as a classical musician, and by the end of the 1980s had reached a pinnacle of popularity with a recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons that sold over 1 million copies. In 1992 he retired from classical performance, and reappeared in 1997 playing popular music and jazz in addition to classical music.