A much-loved park fairy tale trail has been destroyed again with thieves stealing nine of the wooden sculptures including the Gruffalo.
Rangers at Clifton Country Park in Salford were devastated to arrive on site on Friday morning and find that vandals had cut through chains and locks on the park gate to dig out the statues that were secured in place with steel rods.
It’s not the first time the Fairy Tale Trail has been targeted. Just a few weeks after it launched in 2017, at a cost of £5,000 with the help of the Friends of Clifton Country Park, the owl carving was nicked after vandals sawed through the wood above its claws to remove it. A few weeks later, the fox carving had its nose sawn off.
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Then last January we reported how eight sculptures were stolen from the site, which is accessed via Clifton House Road, which runs off the A666.
The fox is another of the stolen sculptures -Credit:Salford City Council
They were replaced with new ones in August, with families delighted to see them return. But this week, they’ve vanished again, with thieves using heavy-duty tools to dig out the statues and remove them from the trail.
Councillor Barbara Bentham, Salford council’s lead member for neighbourhoods, environment and community safety, said: “Myself, along with staff from our Ranger Team and many residents from the local community are once again truly devastated at the theft of these carved wooden sculptures from Clifton Country Park.
“Nine different sculptures of a bear, fox, fairy house, eagle, squirrel, honeycomb, owl, ladybird and the Gruffalo were stolen from the park, which formed part of a popular family walking trail around the lake.
The ground showing where one of the sculptures has been removed -Credit:Salford City Council
“This is the second time in 12 months that the park has been ransacked and these sculptures removed in this way. Following the initial theft in December 2023, we commissioned replacement sculptures, which were installed using more robust fittings such as post-crete and steel rods driven through the wood to secure them in the ground.
“We had hoped this would be sufficient to prevent future theft, but now we are faced with repeated destruction and the challenge of replacing these much-loved assets.”
The council is working with Greater Manchester Police and believes the sculptures were taken some time between 5pm on January 16 and 6am the following morning.
The owl has also been stolen -Credit:Salford City Council
Coun Bentham added: “This deplorable act of theft and vandalism of the park has robbed families and walkers of chance of enjoying these beautifully carved sculptures as they explore of the city’s most popular and treasured green spaces.
“I’d like to call on local residents, especially those on Clifton Hall Road or the A666 to help us catch these unrepentant thieves, bring them to justice and prevent our community from being robbed of these family favourites again.
“If you have any security or doorbell cameras with footage from overnight that might help aid the investigation, please contact Greater Manchester Police direct.”
Anyone with information can call GMP on 101.