New sceptre for King's statue given consent

The staff, topped with a cross, has never been found after it vanished from the statue in the 1970s

A sceptre that went missing from a statue of King George III at a seaside resort over 50 years ago will be replaced with a replica after permission was granted.

The monument with the king in Garter robes, holding a sceptre in his right hand stood on top of a stone base, was put up in Weymouth in 1809 to mark the monarch's Golden Jubilee.

The rod, topped with a cross, vanished from the Grade 1 listed statue that forms part of a traffic island on the Esplanade in the 1970s and has never been found.

Listed building consent for a 5ft-long (1.5m) gilded hardwood replica of the sceptre was granted by Dorset Council on Thursday.

A photo from 1964 shows the sceptre still intact

The council said the return of the sceptre "will serve to enhance the statue and complete its look as currently the right hand is a little 'lost'.

"The exact reason for the disappearance is not known but trophy hunters are suspected as the horn of the unicorn also went missing at various times", the council added.

The sceptre is being made to match one seen in a photograph of the monument dated 1964.

The statue stands on the junction of the Esplanade and Westham Road