A much-loved statue which was stolen from outside a holiday centre for underprivileged Derbyshire children during lockdown has been replaced by local councillors.
The statue of a skipping boy was taken from outside the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, in Skegness, in the early hours of the morning at the height of the pandemic.
Neither the culprit nor the statue was ever found but Skegness councillors Mark Dannatt and Richard Cunnington paid for a £450 replacement from their community funds.
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The statue of a skipping boy was taken from outside the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, in Skegness, in the early hours of the morning at the height of the pandemic.
The new statue of a boy on stilts is by Toscano, the same company that made the original. This time, the oak barrel on which it sits has been filled with concrete to prevent it from being stolen again.
Centre manager Ali Byerley said she and her fellow staff had been “devastated” after receiving a call from the police to say the original statue had been stolen.
Ali said: “It’s outside the centre just to depict all the children having a happy time and we were devastated that it just vanished overnight.
“It was a little bit of a landmark, and we were quite sad that someone would steal from a charity that works hard to give children some happy memories.”
The statue had been in situ since the charity celebrated its 125th anniversary five years ago and was an important symbol for the children attending the centre, not only to welcome them back each evening but to remind them to relax and have fun.
The children who attend the centre are from all over Derby and Derbyshire and may never have experienced a holiday before. In normal circumstances, the centre is open between April and October with spaces for 660 children a year.
The statue had been in situ since the charity celebrated its 125th anniversary five years ago and was an important symbol for the children attending the centre, not only to welcome them back each evening but to remind them to relax and have fun.
Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre chairman Alan Grimadell said: “We are extremely grateful to councillors Richard Cunnington and Mark Dannatt for their generosity in replacing the statue.
“It’s very important to us as a charity that children who go to the centre get a sense not only of where they are, but that it’s all about having fun!
“It was very upsetting when the original statue was stolen, so it’s great to see it replaced with an equally lovely replacement.”
The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has not been able to open for the summers of 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is hoped that children can once again be welcomed in 2022.
ENDS
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About DCHC
DCHC was founded in 1891 by friends Harry Sykes and Arnold Bemrose. Harry noticed two boys playing with a sailboat on a puddle in the West End of Derby, a deprived area at the time. Having gained permission from their parents, within two weeks he took 14 children on a trip to Skegness. The following year, 223 children enjoyed a holiday and a specialist centre in the popular seaside resort was opened in 1898.
Today, the charity has two patrons: Sir Henry Every, 13th baronet of Eggington, and former Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Willie Tucker.
