Edwinstowe residents 'distressed' after Robin Hood statue's arms torn off overnight

Residents of a Nottinghamshire village have been left "distressed" after a statue of Robin Hood and Maid Marian was damaged. The pair, who are immortalised in a bronze sculpture in Edwinstowe, are missing part of an arm each.

Nottinghamshire Police said they were investigating the "completely unacceptable" damage, which was inflicted on the night of Halloween (October 31). Parish councillor John Peck said many residents had been left upset about the "iconic" statue and estimated it would cost upwards of £15,000 to repair.

"It's very distressing to residents in Edwinstowe, they're concerned as it's an iconic statue that represents the village which is a gateway to Sherwood Forest. We're very much attached to the Robin Hood legend," he said.

"When people found out local social media was going mad, people were really upset. It's quite a serious bit of damage that will be extremely expensive to repair.

"This is not a simple job of sticking the hands back on. It's a major restoration job."

Mr Peck said he did not know how the damage had been inflicted but suggested it was due to "sheer stupidity", adding: "I think it was the cause of someone fooling around and climbing up on it. I expect it was an instance of sheer stupidity."

The sculpture was installed in 1998 as part of the restoration of Edwinstowe's high street and depicts both Robin Hood and Maid Marian kneeling towards each other and holding hands. "I think it represents him asking her to marry him," Mr Peck said.

"We like to perpetuate the legend that they were married in our church which is hundreds of years old. Lots of visitors come down and you see them every day having photographs and taking selfies."

Mr Peck reached the £15,000 estimate by looking back on the cost of previously restoring the statue after a car crashed into the statue in 2020. A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson said: “We’re aware of reports of a statue being vandalised in Edwinstowe High Street.

"The Robin Hood and Maid Marian statue was damaged at some point between 4pm on 31 October and 7am on 1 November. It really should go without saying but this type of criminal damage is completely unacceptable.

"Our officers are in the process of investigating this incident, so would ask anyone with any information to share it with us. Anyone who knows anything is asked to report it to the police by calling 101, quoting incident 24000665495.”