Charity post-box topper vandalism 'devastating'

The topper had been on top of the post box in Didcot for eight weeks

The destruction of a knitted post box topper created as part of a charity campaign was "devastating", its creator has said.

The knitted oxen were displayed on a post box outside of the Post Office on The Broadway, in Didcot.

Rachel Crook made the topper as part of a fundraising scheme for Oxford-based hospice Sobell House.

The artist, who is better known as Yarnsy, said the damage was "doubly disappointing" because it was made for a charity campaign.

She said: "Obviously there's a lot of work that goes into these toppers and to see it destroyed like that, it was quite disheartening."

"More than anything, it was, you know 'why this particular one?'"

It was one of four toppers created in aid of Sobell House

The topper, which had been on the post box for eight weeks, was one of four created for Sobell House's OxTrail fundraising campaign.

"It had a cause associated with it and it's just doubly disappointing that it was this particular one that they decided to destroy," she said.

The damage was first spotted on Wednesday evening, with the topper being removed soon after.

Having initially warned the incident may lead to her putting the knitting needles away for "a bit", Ms Crook has since told the BBC that this had been a "knee-jerk reaction".

She added that it "may take a couple of weeks", but there would be a new topper on the post box soon.

A Facebook post displaying the damage received hundreds of comments, with people calling the incident "heart-breaking" and "disgusting".

Ms Crook said the public response to the damage had "just been lovely - it's it's been completely overwhelming".

She added: "If we could get a silver lining out of this, it would be a boost to Sobell House - that would be amazing."