Charity penguin sculpture rescued from river

St Richard's have said they are "devastated" after three penguin sculptures were vandalised

Specialist firefighters have recovered a charity penguin sculpture from the River Severn.

Two other penguins were damaged overnight, a spokeswoman for St Richard's Hospice said, adding it was a "sickening".

The three sculptures have been removed from Bromwich Parade to be repaired, it comes four weeks after other figures were vandalised.

A total of 80 penguins and chicks went on display last month to raise money for St Richard's Hospice.

This is the second time sculptures in the Waddle of Worcester trail have been attacked and hospice spokeswoman Sara Matthews said: "We run these art trails as a thank you to our community who give so much to us at St Richard’s Hospice.

"At first we kind of expected it because people don't understand the aim of this project but this time it's challenging to deal with because people know it's for St Richards.

"People can see the excitement, the joy and the number of people enjoying the trail that makes it really difficult to stomach... it's sickening," she said.

Penguins featured in the trail go on to be auctioned to raise money for the hospice

"We're trying to encourage people to come to Worcester, so acts of vandalism aren't the best advertisement but its not a reflection of our beautiful community," Ms Matthews said.

"It ruins it for everybody else," she said, "thousands of trail goers are making memories out on the trail each week and the sculptures are worth thousands of pounds to our charity at auction."