Information on Loughborough

Police appeal for return of stolen sculpture

Posted on 20/05/2009

police,constabulary,leicestershire police Police appeal for return of stolen sculpture A wooden version of the stolen statue

A wooden version of the stolen statue

The police are appealing for information about the whereabouts of a unique marble statue taken from a grave at Loughborough cemetery. 

The statue, in the shape of a flying bird, was taken from the grave of Andrew Newton’s son, Luke Newton who died in 1988 a week before his first birthday.  It is about 24 inches high and made from marble. 

Mr Newton, who is 50 and lives in Loughborough, had not visited the cemetery for about three months.  He thinks the statue was taken sometime at the beginning of March 2009 when there was still snow on the ground.  He reported it to the police on Tuesday 12th May 2009.

Mr Newton said; "I was gutted when I went to visit Luke's grave only to see taht the bird had been taken.  Unfortunately, because I have not been up there for a long time, I am not sure exactly when it was taken.  It is a unique statue of a flying bird set into a block of rock so it is very distinctive.  I hoep someone might recognise it and contact the police." 

PC 2061 Glen Reid said; “This statue is very unusual as Mr Newton had it copied from a wooden sculpture he has in his garden.  It would have been very heavy and the person or people who took it must have used a vehicle to take it away.  Because the sculpture is so distinctive we hope someone might recognise it and contact us.  

“Thankfully we receive very few reports of incidents of theft or damage at the cemetery and it is hard to understand why anyone would want to steal from a grave but we would urge anyone who thinks they have been the victim of a crime to contact us. We do take these incidents very seriously but need information from cemetery users to help us in our investigations.”

There have been four reported cases of theft and two of damage at Loughborough Cemetery in the last 12 months and Charnwood Borough Council are currently consulting cemetery users to make sure that everyone who uses the cemetery can do so in an environment that is safe and secure. 

Anyone with any information please contact PC 2061 Glen Reid on Leicester (0116) 222 2222 - follow the instructions and when prompted, enter the identification number 2061 and leave a message or call Crimestoppers, which is free* and anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

*Please note, some mobile 'phone networks may charge for this call.