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Leigh On Sea News. Vandals Topple Sculpture – A FUNDRAISING sculpture in Leigh Library Garden was vandalised by yobs, just days after the art trail, it was part of, was due to end. The Herd in the City elephants have been placed around the City of Southend to raise vital funds for Havens Hospices.
Vandals Topple Sculpture - A FUNDRAISING sculpture in Leigh Library Garden was vandalised by yobs, just days after the art trail, it was part of, was due to end. The Herd in the City elephants have been placed around the City of Southend to raise vital funds for Havens Hospices.
A FUNDRAISING sculpture in Leigh Library Garden was vandalised by yobs, just days after the art trail, it was part of, was due to end.
The Herd in the City elephants have been placed around the City of Southend to raise vital funds for Havens Hospices.
On Sunday, August 27, ‘Lollie the elephant’ was found lying on its side in Leigh Library Gardens.
Artist David Maguire, who was enlisted to decorate the elephant sculpture, with sponsorship from Forrester Hyde, said he was “crushed” at the news that the fundraising art piece had been so thoughtlessly damaged.
On social media, he said: “I’m absolutely crushed to see this this morning.
“I spent weeks carefully painting her and all of the little details on each ice cream and lolly and it’s terrible for it all to be ruined so close to the end of the trail.
“It’s so sad that she won’t be able to be on display until the end thanks to some mindless individual, who clearly has issues if they can’t leave charity art sculptures alone.”
Havens Hospice, which helps families and individuals impacted by incurable illness in South Essex, has also spoken of their heartbreak at the damage to the elephant.
A spokesperson for Havens Hospices said: “We are aware of the deliberate damage to Lollie at Leigh Library Gardens and are heartbroken that someone has done this to one of our beloved elephants.
“Unfortunately, they are too badly injured to remain on the trail, so they have had to be removed whilst we assess the extent and cost of the damage. We will be working with the relevant authorities to investigate this incident.
“Our artists spend hours creating these masterpieces for everyone to enjoy and to raise vital funds for Havens Hospices, caring for babies, children and adults living with an incurable condition.”
There are 45 other elephant sculptures and 72 baby elephants located around Southend, Leigh and Shoeburyness.
All the elephants will come together on September 23 and 24 at Saxon Hall for a farewell weekend before being auctioned on September 26.
The Havens spokesperson added: “We hope Lollie can still go to auction and be sold to fund our free, specialist care for local families.”
A fundraiser was set up on social media soon after the incident, to help raise funds for the elephant’s repair.
Mr Maguire added: “I hope those that did get to visit Lollie when she was looking her best, enjoyed meeting her and appreciated the love that went into creating her.”
“We really don’t want this incident to spoil our wonderful trail, so we hope everyone will continue to enjoy our other sculptures in the final week.
“If you had planned to visit Lollie during the last week of the trail, you can still ‘collect’ this on the app by using the code 8473.”
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