Anger as vandals cause £15,000 damage by severing Robin Hood and Maid Marian's arms

Vandals have caused £15,000 worth of damage after breaking off the arms of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.Residents of the Nottinghamshire village of Edwinstowe were left "distressed" after the statue of Robin Hood and Maid Marian was damaged.The pair, who are immortalised in a bronze sculpture, 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."

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