Parks and culture staff at Southend Borough Council are appealing for information to track down a vandal who has damaged the often-targeted Queen Victoria statue.

The damage was first bought to the Council’s attention when a Parks Warden found the hand missing at roughly 12.00pm today (Thursday 22 February). This was then reported to Council officers.

The famous statue, which stands proudly on Clifftown Parade, Southend, has been targeted for a shocking third time in 10 months. Most recently, the royal statue had its finger removed by vandals in November 2017, costing in the region of £900 to replace and install. This followed on from vandalism back in April 2017, when Council staff were forced to replace the statue’s nose, hands and missing sceptre parts, at a cost of £3,000.

The total cost to replace the hand is estimated to cost from £3,000 to £5,000. Due to recent run of damage, the Council plans to investigate posable measures that could help reduce future damage to the statue before undertaking repairs.

Since April 2017, including the estimated cost to fix the current vandalism, the Council will have spent approximately £7,000 in repairs.

Cllr Ann Holland, Executive Councillor for Culture, Tourism and the Economy, said: “It is shocking that this has happened again and mindless vandals have once again damaged the statue of Queen Victoria.

“Replacing the parts of the statue does not come cheap, and unfortunately these costs come directly from residents’ Council tax and with increased pressure on the way money is being spent, this is a cost we could all do without.

“We will now be reviewing different ways of offering additional protection to the statue to deter future vandals and then look to return it to all its glory, the way it was originally intended to be.”

Anyone with information about the damage to the statue is urged to call Essex Police.