Fury as Ludlow willow ship sculpture is vandalised
A sculpture made by children has been vandalised – just a week after it was finished.
Children and young people in Ludlow spent more than 20 hours putting together the life-size living-willow sculpture of a Viking longboat on the Linney Riverside Park over two weekends at the end of last month.
But somewhere between Sunday night and Tuesday morning the bow of the ship was ripped down, and other parts of the intricately woven sculpture were snapped and pulled out.
Youth worker Richard Morley, who led the activity, said the destruction was "devastating".
"I went down on Sunday to take some photographs as we finished the boat in the dark the previous weekend and it looked stunning in the sunlight.
"People were coming over to look at it and children were playing in it.
"Then on Tuesday afternoon I went down to check on it and someone has destroyed all that hard work and effort," he said.
"If it was any local group I've been working with it's even more of a kick in the teeth. It's tough because lots of people have very negative views of young people, there aren't many willing to stand up and defend them.
"We try really hard to help young people change these perceptions and then this happens – I've been a direct victim."
The living sculpture was commissioned by South Shropshire Youth Forum by the Friends of the Linney group, and was planned to bloom into a permanent feature of the park.
Richard said: "All I want is for the person or people who did it to realise that this has affected a lot of people.
"At least 30 volunteers of all ages came to participate on this installation and scores of children would have been able to enjoy playing in the boat in the months to come.
"I don't want to spend another 20 hours fixing it for the same thing to happen again, but we won't give up."
But, he said, it was likely to be spring before it could be repaired now.
Ludlow Councillor Vivienne Parry said she had planned to take Ludlow in Bloom judges to see the sculpture next summer, as it was exactly the kind of project that Ludlow could be proud of.
She said she was also meeting with youth service workers at Ludlow Library on Tuesday and would discuss the vandalism and what could be done.
"I'm afraid we do have an element who hang around there, but it is only a very small element, it's a couple of people.
"But of course we don't know who did it – it could have been older people as well."
Gina Wilding, clerk of Ludlow Town Council, who part-funded the project, said: "I'm very disappointed to hear people have done this to what was was a fantastic project, it seems so pointless."
Richard is offering a reward for information which leads to him finding the person responsible.
"Whoever is big enough to be this destructive should be big enough to come and admit it to me," he said.
"I won't take it any further than that although I will be asking them to help me to repair the damage."
He can be found at the Rockspring Community Centre in Ludlow (01584 874922) or out and about with the local youth population on a Saturday night.
