'Upset' as vicar's comic book scarecrows disappear

The two scarecrows were taken from the garden of the Shirland Rectory in Main Road

Two scarecrows depicting a comic superhero and one of his enemies have been taken from a village.

The Spiderman and Doctor Octopus figures were part of the scarecrow festival at Shirland, near Alfreton, Derbyshire.

They were created by the Reverend Aron Simpson and his children.

Mr Simpson - Priest in Charge at Morton, Stonebroom and Shirland - said the apparent theft had "upset" the whole community.

Mr Simpson, as Thor, during a Comic-Con event where people dress as their favourite comic book characters

The scarecrows had only taken "a few hours" to make using existing costumes.

Their disappearance has not been reported to the police, but people in the area are being asked to keep an eye out for them in case they have been dumped.

Mr Simpson told BBC Radio Derby: "This year the kids and I decided we would enter the scarecrow festival and as we love going to Comic-Con events, we made a Spiderman and Doctor Octopus.

"They have been up for three weeks and everyone in the community who has walked past absolutely loved them.

"People have been stopping their cars to look at them and take pictures."

Yet overnight on Monday or Tuesday, it is thought someone removed the figures, which are stuffed with straw.

Mr Simpson said: "We came outside and there was just a sense something was missing, then we realised what had gone."

He said his three teenage children were "quite upset" at their disappearance.

Asked why someone would take them, Mr Simpson said a passer-by must have taken a fancy to them.

He added: "We'd like to have them back. They've become part of the community. They brought joy to people's faces and that's gone now."

The scarecrow festival, which also covers Higham and Stonebroom, continues until Saturday.

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