Mickey Mouse statue is smashed in weekend vandalism spree
A MICKEY Mouse statue was among the victims of a spate of vandalism in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Two arrests have made in relation to the criminal damage investigation, which included damage to road furniture and cars. Unsecured vehicles were also entered.
The police believe the damage began on L’Hyvreuse Avenue and the vandals then travelled down Fosse Andre, Maurepas Road and Amherst.
But quite close to this and around the same time a home-made, fibreglass Mickey statue, which brought joy to many island children, was also smashed. The statue is normally on top of Abby Oliveira’s porch in Courtil St Jacques, safely chained down to ensure it stays put. But recently it had been taken down for its annual repainting and had been hidden behind a car in the driveway. As Mrs Oliveira’s 14-year-old daughter, Jessie, went to walk the dog at 7.30am yesterday, she found smashed pieces of the statue spread over the road.
‘I saw his foot first and then his two ears,’ she said.
‘I thought ‘‘oh, no’’.’
Mrs Oliveira said she was surprised this had happened.
‘We don’t normally have trouble around here,’ Mrs Oliveira said.
‘I can’t understand why anyone would do something so stupid.’
The heavy statue was made of fibreglass in 2015 and soon became a local celebrity.
It is believed the damage was cause between 1am and 2am and Mrs Oliveira said she hoped someone saw or heard something.
‘To be able to break him as they did, they must have jumped on him or whacked him,’ she said.
Mrs Oliveira said while the statue was probably repairable, they could not do it without a specialist respirator. And unfortunately they no longer have access to one.
Her husband, Ned, who made the statue, has now made a cross for the fallen Mickey. Mrs Oliveira said what made things harder was that her husband had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
What she really wanted from the perpetrators was an apology and attempt by them to put right the damage they had caused.
Duty police inspector Tom Marshall confirmed they had received a number of calls from members of the public about criminal damage on Sunday morning in St Peter Port. He urged people to check their property and contact the police if there was any damage. He confirmed that two people had been arrested in relation to criminal damage and the investigation was ongoing.
n Anyone who saw anything or knows what happened is urged to contact Guernsey Police on 725111 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
