FOLLOWING on from the recent vandal attacks to the hare sculptures on a Cirencester nature trail, one of the hares has now been removed for safe-keeping.

Last week, Dave Wells, one of the seven artists commissioned to decorate their own five foot sculpture, which were then placed at different points on the permanent Hare Festival Way trail along the River Churn, was dismayed at the amount of damage done.

He had also mentioned that fellow hare artist Mike Smith’s sculpture had been damaged and the binoculars ‘effectively welded’ to it had been taken.

Now, Mike’s hare, placed near the TEXACO garage on Abbey Way in the spring, has been removed by the town council to keep it safe.

Mike had initially feared that his sculpture had been stolen after he saw it was missing on Sunday.

He said: “The hare was attached to a metal plinth and cemented to the ground. It looks like they have used professional equipment. You can see the tyre tracks where they’ve driven a big vehicle up to it.”

The trail officially opened last October and was funded by the Cirencester Hare Trail and supported by Cirencester Community Development Trust in partnership with Cirencester Town Council.

Mike contacted Florence Beetlestone, the founder of the festival, who he said then emailed the town council who told her on Monday night it been removed for ‘safekeeping’.

It is unclear whether any of the other hares will be removed, with several of the sculptures having suffered considerable damage.

The hare on City Bank by Charmaine Williamson, for example, has had an ear chopped off.

Following the attacks, Dave said he had repaired the damage to his hare himself last week, before walking the length of the trail to see the extent of the damage.

“I noticed damage on all but two of the hares, the first one in Watermoor Road and the last one in Cecily Hill,” he said. “It looks like someone has used a hammer to inflict dents and cracks.”