Anger as village's Robin Hood statue damaged

Police are investigating after an "iconic" sculpture of Robin Hood and Maid Marian was damaged.

The bronze statue, in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, depicts the two kneeling to each other with their hands clasped together.

However, on 31 October, it was damaged, and a parish councillor said it would "need extensive work" to repair and cost up to £6,000.

Nottinghamshire Police said criminal damage to the statue was "completely unacceptable", adding officers were investigating and urged anyone with any information to contact the force.

The statue, sculpted by Neale Andrew, was installed outside the village library as part of a regeneration project of the High Street in 1998.

Edwinstowe parish councillor John Peck said the "iconic statue" seemed to imply that Robin Hood was proposing to Marian.

"Legend has it that Robin Hood and Marian were married at St Mary's Church in the village," he said.

"The Robin Hood is a worldwide legend, and Edwinstowe is the centre of Sherwood Forest.

"There's hardly a day that goes by where I don't see somebody taking a photograph next to the statue."

Peck said they learned the statue had been damaged with both Robin Hood and Marian "losing part of their arms, including their hands", and a piece left on the ground on the morning of 1 November.

"The village is really disappointed, and it's tragic," he said. "It's an iconic statue that means a lot to the village and an important part of the High Street.

"We think somebody's probably got up on the statue and I'm afraid it isn't built to stand that kind of attention.

"It's solid bronze, and it'll be a very difficult fix. It will need to be taken away, and it'll probably take a couple of months to repair. It'll be a big loss.

"It's going to be a long and expensive job."

Peck said the statue had been damaged before.

In May 2020, a car left the road and crashed into the statue, which he said cost several thousands of pounds to repair.

He said the "significant and beautiful piece of art" was then put back in December.

He added there was no CCTV coverage of the area, which they would "seriously consider" to protect the statue.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson said: "The Robin Hood and Maid Marian statue was damaged at some point between 16:00 on 31 October and 07:00 on 1 November.

"It really should go without saying, but this type of criminal damage is completely unacceptable.

"Our officers are in the process of investigating this incident, so we would ask anyone with any information to share it with us."

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