'Despicable' theft of village's Remembrance nurse silhouette
A REMEMBRANCE silhouette of a nurse has been stolen from Sway village centre in an act described as “despicable”.
The metal figure was erected by the parish council near the Jubilee Oak, which is adorned with poppies, on 25th September but vanished last Wednesday night.
Parish clerk Katie Walding told the A&T: “It is on a stake which is hammered into the ground a good foot and a half, so to take the whole thing must have required some effort.
“It is 6ft tall and quite heavy, so we assume someone took it away in a vehicle.
“Why anyone would want to steal it we don’t know. It is very sad to do this, especially as it was a nurse and with everything the NHS has done this year it had special meaning.”
She added: “We are very upset about it. It really is despicable especially at this time.”
Villagers have been looking for the silhouette of the nurse since it disappeared but no trace has been found.
Ms Walding said: “Last year vandals decapitated the nurse and a silhouette of a soldier, but we had them repaired.
“When that happened, we found the heads nearby in bushes. But this time the nurse is nowhere to be seen. It really is frustrating.
“We would really like her back; I can’t think of what use she is to anyone.”
One villager called the theft “simply despicable”.
Commenting on social media they said: “People, like the nurse depicted, gave us the lives we can enjoy now.
“I hope that the nurse is found and those who removed her dealt with appropriately.”
As reported in the A&T, the figures have been targets of vandalism before. In July last year a sailor silhouette in Christchurch had its head taken off. The following month, a soldier figure suffered the same fate in Fawley.
Those with information about the Sway silhouette should contact the parish council by ringing 01590 718116 or by emailing clerk@sway-pc.gov.uk
