March of the Elephant sculpture vandalised ahead of trail launch
One of the March of the Elephants, which runs across Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, and Lichfield, was found vandalised by a member of the public.
Last updated 2nd Jul 2024
An elephant sculpture in Lichfield, which is part of St Giles Hospice's March of the Elephants, has been vandalised.
The trail of over 60 sculptures, which is to raise money for the hospice, was launched yesterday (1 July).
The damage to one of the elephants, named 'Vince', happened overnight on Sunday 30 June, just hours before the launch. He was placed on Bore Street.
St Giles Hospice described the attack as "devastating". Georgia Haynes, Project Event Manager at the hospice, said: "It is with great sadness that we announce one of our beloved sculptures, 'Vince', was damaged on the first day of the trail. Sadly, we believe this act was deliberate, and unfortunately, 'Vince' is too badly injured to remain on the trail at this time. We are heartbroken by this incident."
Vince was found by a family on the trail.
Staffordshire Police have been informed and are investigating the destruction.
Georgie added: "Despite this setback, all our other sculptures are out and about and are being adored by our local community. We hope everyone will continue to enjoy finding and interacting with them. These friendly creatures need to be treated with respect. We kindly ask all trail-goers to be gentle and refrain from climbing or swinging on the sculptures.
"We’re determined not to let this incident spoil our wonderful trail – at this point in time, we’re not sure on the extent of the damage but are working diligently to hopefully have 'Vince' back on display as soon as possible. We’re so sorry to any of our trail-goers who have made special journeys to meet ‘Vince’."
Despite the incident, the March of the Elephants trail continues to showcase a herd of colourful sculptures across Lichfield, Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield.
The trail features 30 large elephant sculptures and more than 40 mini-elephants, each decorated by local and national artists, schools, and community groups.
St Giles Hospice is encouraging the public to download the app for £1.99 from the App Store or Google Play, with all proceeds going to the charity. Alternatively, trail maps are available from St Giles charity shops or Lichfield Maize Maze.
The hospice said it remains hopeful this incident will not overshadow the positive impact of March of the Elephants, which aims to bring colour and creativity to local streets while supporting the vital work of St Giles Hospice. The elephants are auctioned off at the end of the trail, starting from £3,000, to raise vital funds for St Giles Hospice. This is the equivalent to over 100 hours of one-to-one nursing care for our patients.