Resident repairs penguin statue damaged by vandals

A damaged penguin statue near Redcar Beach has been given a new beak by resident David Kevlin. It will be painted later

A seafront penguin statue that had its beak hacked off by vandals has been repaired by a resident.

The penguin is one of seven located off Newcomen Terrace by Redcar Beach but it was left without a face about a fortnight ago.

After hearing about the damage, David Kevlin came to the rescue and volunteered to fix the statue, using an old cereal box, fibreglass and epoxy resin.

Mr Kevlin, a DJ who has repaired speakers using the same method, only moved to the area in December but said he knew the penguins were important and wanted to help.

"I made a cone out of an old Weetabix box and I used the epoxy resin and the fibreglass to shape it around the cone and on to the face," he said.

"It took me about two or three hours."

David Kevlin said he had used the same materials to fix speakers during his work as a DJ

Mr Kevlin, who works as a DJ, moved to the area from Birkenhead, Merseyside.

He said he was confident he could fix the statue as he had used the same materials to fix his speakers and knew how it would set.

The penguin was initially left with a clear resin beak but Mr Kevlin went back later to paint it once it had set. He said he planned to return to paint the yellow sections.

"People love the penguins up there," he said.

"It's just nice to be nice."

The penguin was damaged overnight between 20 and 21 March

The concrete penguins were created by the North Shields-based Great British Bollard Company and installed on the seafront in 1994, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

During a previous vandal attack the bollards had paint poured over them.