Vandals in Lichfield have damaged an elephant sculpture on the first day it was installed as part of a public art trail.
The St Giles Hospice event has seen the decorated figures placed at a number of locations.
But the Vince sculpture – created by artist Jenny Marshall and sponsored by Davisons Law – which was put up on Bore Street has been damaged beyond immediate repair, the Whittington charity has said.
It was only put in place overnight yesterday (30th June) outside of the legal firm’s office ahead of the trail starting.
Georgia Haynes, project event manager at St Giles Hospice, said:
“It is with great sadness that we announce one of our beloved sculptures, Vince, was damaged on the first day of the trail.
“Sadly, we believe this act was deliberate and unfortunately Vince is too badly damaged to remain on the trail at this time.
“We are heartbroken by this incident.”
Georgia Haynes
Vince was found with damage by a family taking part in the trail earlier today (1st July).
Georgia said staff at the hospice were devastated at the damage.
“Despite this setback, all our other sculptures are out and about and are being adored by our local community.
“We hope everyone will continue to enjoy finding and interacting with them. These friendly creatures need to be treated with respect.
“We kindly ask all trail-goers to be gentle and refrain from climbing or swinging on the sculptures.
“We’re determined not to let this incident spoil our wonderful trail – at this point in time, we’re not sure on the extent of the damage, but are working diligently to hopefully have Vince back on display as soon as possible.
“We’re so sorry to any of our trail-goers who have made special journeys to meet Vince.”
Georgia Haynes
The damage means Vince may not be able to be auctioned off to raise money for the charity alongside the other sculptures. An online fundraising page has been launched to help raise money to replace any money lost as a result of the damage.
For more information about the art trail visit www.marchoftheelephants.co.uk.
