Wiltshire Police were called to reports of the Royal Wootton Bassett’s gifted marble poppy being severely vandalised in the early hours of this morning.
However, on reviewing overnight CCTV footage, police officers discovered that the poppy, created by artist Mark Humphrey, had simply fallen apart.
The huge 4.5 tonne marble poppy, situated on Marlowe Way, served as a memorial to the men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Following reports of vandalism to the Poppy @ RWB we can confirm that there was a catastrophic structural failure and nothing criminal pic.twitter.com/UnJD3NIsR8
— RWB Police (@RWBassettPolice) October 19, 2017
A police spokesperson said: “There was a catastrophic structural failure at 04:47am”.
“The council are now in full swing making the area safe until this time please keep away from the area and do not approach the statue.”
The Mayor of Royal Wootton Bassett, Councillor Steve Bucknell, has said “We are shocked and saddened about the damage to the Poppy, and are currently looking into the cause”.
We’ve contacted Mark Humphrey for comment.
