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Statue vandal hunt intensifies
A HUGE hunt to snare callous vandals who defaced an iconic North Bay statue has intensified.
Police have stepped up their investigation after the giant £50,000 steel Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers sculpture was daubed with litres of yellow paint last month.
Officers are continuing scour the town for a paint-spattered vehicle they suspect was intrinsic to the attack and have also unleashed a massive leaflet campaign across Scarborough.
A cash reward pot of £2,150 - started by the Evening News and augmented by disgusted residents - also still stands for information leading to a successful prosecution.
The statue is now being monitored by a security firm to thwart future attacks.
PC Alex Parker, who is heading the investigation, said the force had been buoyed by the initial response to the damage.
However, he added they still needed further help to pinpoint the perpetrators.
The statue, by artist Ray Lonsdale, became a permanent fixture on Scarborough’s sea front when benevolent pensioner Maureen Robinson bought it for the town in November last year.
She broke down in tears when she saw the damage.
A poignant inference to former miner Freddie Gilroy, the sculpture recalls his heroics as one of the first soldiers to relieve victims of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
The statue was welcomed with magnificent acclaim from residents and visitors.
Anyone with information about the attack should contact the police on 101 before selecting option two and asking for PC Alex Parker or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 12 comments to this article
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Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 06:43 PMI think there peeing in the wind with this one and I wish they would put this much effort into real crimes
politically_incorrect
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 12:10 PMIt was me, sorry. Now can we move onto the next tragedy to hit this town?
one of each
Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 10:21 AMi don't care about the daft statue it can drop in the sea for me - belsen stragglers, concentration camps... blah blah blah blah who gives a monkeys ? perhaps artist Ray Lonsdale should do a piece of art with relevance or maybe he has a political agenda ?
carealot
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 11:34 PMFreddie is best on the nothside,but why not just move him along to the widest part of the drive,I mean where the path divides and he sits on the top away from the splashes of the sea,people wont be blocking the paths while taking pictures and he has a lovley view
ANARCHIST
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 08:24 PMEven though it is " Only a statue" it does not give the scum of this town the right to deface it. Mrs Robinson gave this town a gift, and it looks right where it is. We of the Northy Bay do not want it moving. What we need is for another benefactor to provide CCTV to monitor it. If the Scum are caught, what will be their punishment? possible community service or let off with a warning. Punishments in the UK are to soft.
ANARCHIST
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 08:11 PMEven though it is " Only a statue" it does not give the scum of this town the right to deface it. Mrs Robinson gave this town a gift, and it looks right where it is. We of the Northy Bay do not want it moving. What we need is for another benefactor to provide CCTV to monitor it. If the Scum are caught, what will be their punishment? possible community service or let off with a warning. Punishments in the UK are to soft.
TSnf
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 04:43 PMOMG, here we go again!!! It's a b****y statue for God's sake and whilst I condemn any wanton vandalsim, I think that this is now just a bit OTT!! I am sick of reading about it and seeing Mrs ("Modest - not-") Robinson's photo accompanying it with such tedious regularity. Is there nothing else happening to report on? Or are we to be bombarded with news about this statue for evermore??
shogun_showtime
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 04:28 PMI hope folk don't report my vehicle because it's got yellow paint on it!!! It wasn't me!!! Cops have my vehicle details already anyways, if you know what I mean.
shogun_showtime
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 04:22 PMSome tw*ts put yellow paint on my shogun on wednesday night when it was parked on north marine road. Gunna take ages to get it off. I told the cops about it, I wonder if that's why they intensified the hunt. Or maybe it's just a coincidence.
Ian Moone
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 01:16 PMNo 2. How would you know who knew who had done it if they did not say anything to anyone and kept it to themselves? Also there may be a reason they have not said anything, like they have been threatened with violence or their homes and families have been threatened if they tell the police. I dont think that a law like that would work, it would just penalise inocent people for knowing something. There is only so much that can be done to protect the innocent person that knows something and has been threatened. I am of course talking in broad terms and not in direct relation to this case!
Crossgates View
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 11:44 AMWhat is needed is a law where who knows who it is and does not come forward will be prosecuted.
FORCE4
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 09:48 AMA huge hunt has intensified? You would think we have a serial killer on the loose here not a couple of drugged up teenagers with a can of paint. Install would should have been done in the first place i.e. a camera trained on the statue and forget about it.
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