Statue Thieves!
Ever wondered what statue thieves look like? Well here are a few for starters. Yes, from left to right are all from Shirley in Suffolk, they have been charged with two counts of grand larceny and one count of criminal mischief. Yes, these little charmers are responsible for the stealing of brass statues with the intent to sell them for scrap metal. Their faces can be found on “wall of shame” Newsday website. Hip hip hooray, there should be more name and shame sites.
Warning to all sculptors, avoid taking on any commissions from Bristol’s Millennium Square. They don’t seem to like public art there. A life-size bronze sculpture of martyr William Tyndale is the latest victim of vandals. Poor old Tyndale, who’s claim to fame was to be the first person to translate the Bible into English, has been finally removed for repairs. A spokeswoman for @Bristol said “Due to acts of vandalism in Millennium Square the statue of William Tyndale has had to be removed because it was in a dangerous state.’ All that remain are a pair of bronze boots (obviously they aren’t considered vandal fodder!). Jasmine, the poor bronze Jack Russell (by Cathie Pilkington), was a victim too. She was ripped from her bolts only to be found, reinstalled then vandalized again (ala Larry LaTrobe). And lets not forget stag beetle, poor bronze creature (by Nicola Hicks) had it’s antennae broken off. Now Nicola has to make replacement “screw in ones” which will be used on “special” occasions. How sad!
It seems the thieves who stole a Haslingden sculpture created by children from a special school have been struck down by guilt. Yes, not only did they return the 7ft called the “Workers” but they included in their apology note (ah huh they wrote one) £50 . The note read : “We’re sorry. We didn’t know the children made this and we are very sorry for stealing drunken. I hope the attached £50 will cover the cost to re-weld him on. Don’t worry we’ve looked after him.” See, sometimes there are nice thieves!
