VANDALISM attacks on the hare sculptures on a Cirencester nature trail have left the artists fearing for the safety of their work.

David Wells, 64, was one of seven artists commissioned to decorate their own 5ft hare sculpture to be placed at different points on the permanent Hare Festival Way trail along the River Churn in Cirencester.

The trail, funded by the Cirencester Hare Festival and supported by the Cirencester Community Development Trust, and in partnership with the Cirencester Town Council, was officially launched last October, with the last of the sculptures installed in the spring.

The hares were intended to help residents and visitors to the town to get in touch with the nature along the river, however, with vandal attacks to at least three of the sculptures, the artists are now questioning the security of the hares.

David said: “I don’t know how we stop it. It’s just very annoying – the damage is quite considerable and it’s several of the hares on the trail.

“My hare has damage to the skull and is cracked.

“I’m not sure if it’s just random acts of vandalism or whether it’s one person with a grudge.”

He added: “Another of the hare artists, Mike Smith, came back with a comment that his hare has been attacked and the binoculars, which were very effectively welded to the statue, had been removed.

“I have also noticed that one hare in the field by City Bank has also one or two contusions.

“Is it so difficult to place community art in public places in Cirencester without it being subject to ‘redesign’?”

David, who studied art at Swindon and Wolverhampton colleges, before going on to work in film, TV and then multimedia design, said he based his hare design on a pond in Harebushes Wood, on the eastern edge of the town.

He said he visited the pond on numerous occasions during the design process, sketching, photographing and filming as the seasons changed.

“The design is basically an amalgamation of the seasons. On my visits, I managed to get some great footage of hares and deer, which was incredible.”

He added: “Now that I’ve retired, I have time to just focus on my own stuff but what’s happened is very upsetting.”