Artist appeals for return of missing WW2 mural

The murals on Garfield Terrace in Stoke Village were done to honour those killed in the Plymouth Blitz

An artist has appealed for the return of a commemorative war mural which has gone missing from a bridge in Plymouth.

Kevin Preston said the canvas, which features an air raid warden, had been put up in Stoke Village in Plymouth in October 2021 as part of World War Two commemorations.

More than 1,100 civilians were killed in the city during the Blitz and the bridge on Garfield Terrace still has visible shrapnel.

Mr Preston, who has produced a number of murals in Plymouth, said if someone had removed the mural "by mistake", then his appeal was "an opportunity" to return it.

'Where it belongs'

"If somebody could just put it back then I could restore it. That's where it belongs," he said. "All I'm interested in is getting it back."

Mr Preston, who has not yet contacted police, said someone living nearby had alerted him on Sunday that the mural had gone.

He told the BBC he thought it had happened sometime in the past week.

"The painting was done to commemorate all the civilians who lost their lives and survived during the heavy bombing in the Plymouth Blitz," said Mr Preston, who served in the Coldstream Guards from 1981 to 1985.

"It symbolises respect for the fallen and what they went through."

Artist Kevin Preston said he hoped the mural could be returned and put back on the bridge

Plymouth was one of the most heavily-bombed cities in the UK during the Blitz, suffering 59 raids in which 26 schools were bombed and 3,754 homes destroyed.

About 1,175 civilians were killed and almost 4,450 injured, according to Plymouth City Council.

Anyone with information about the mural should contact Mr Preston via Facebook or Instagram.

The BBC has approached the council for comment.