VANDALS have caused £600 worth of damage to Droitwich’s iconic St Richard’s Statue by snapping off three of his fingers.
This is the third time the sculpture, in Droitwich’s Vines Park, has been targeted in the last four months.
The incident, at 8pm on Wednesday (July 8), has been reported to the police who are classing it as criminal damage and are reviewing CCTV footage of the area to try and identify the culprits.
The statue, which depicts St Richard blessing the brine well, was first restored by Wychavon District Council in 2006 but it was vandalised in March this year when a finger was snapped off.
A specialist stone carver repaired it at the start of May, costing the council almost £400. However just weeks later it was damaged again when the top part of the statue’s staff was broken off.
The council decided not to carry out repairs after the incident in May as it would cost another £400 and with the latest damage set to cost more it has decided the same again.
Lynn Stevens, the council’s parks officer, said: “We are so saddened by these repeated acts of vandalism to our statue of St Richard.
“Those responsible for the damage clearly do not understand the importance of the statue to Droitwich’s heritage or the distress they cause.
“We have reluctantly decided not to carry out any repairs at the current time as we cannot afford to keep repairing the statue only for it to be vandalised again.”
She urged any witnesses or anyone with any information to call police on 101 and asked residents to keep an eye out for vandals.
