Vow to repair Ludlow children's ship sculpture after vandal attack
A sculpture made by children that was vandalised last year will be repaired.
A youth leader has vowed he will not give up on a Viking longship sculpture made by the children and young people of Ludlow after it was vandalised just a week after being completed in November.
The meeting of Ludlow Town Council last night heard that South Shropshire Youth Forum chief executive Richard Morley had told the council's services committee that the sculpture was repairable.
The life-size longship in Ludlow's Linney Riverside Park took over 20 hours to make over two weekends, woven from living willow trees.
But a week later the bow of the ship was ripped down and other parts snapped and pulled out.
Speaking outside the meeting, Mr Morley said: "We're not going to give up, we're going to try again. That's the message I want to give.
"We're going to get together with a group of young people and have another go at it over the February half term.
"Hopefully it will be there for good this time.
"I'd like to encourage as many people as possible to come along and help us."
He said an exact date for the work was yet to be set, and the culprit of the vandalism had never been found.
He told the services committee the structure would be made more stable and robust this time, with more hazel supports used.
Spare willow had been planted at the time the sculpture was made so there would be no extra cost, he said.
Despite the vandalism, the willow was now budding which showed it was alive and growing as planned, he added.
The committee resolved to keep supporting the project.
Ludlow Town Council also agreed to a recommendation to continue supporting South Shropshire Youth Forum and review and revise an annual grant of £500 in order to reflect its commitment to supporting young people.
