St Albans postbox yarn-bombers undeterred by thieves

Volunteer yarnbombers Christian and James helped to create a mini festive Earthworks complete with tiny willow wreath

Two knitted postbox "toppers" that "disappeared" 48 hours after going on display for a community fundraising event have been replaced just as quickly.

Fifty-four postboxes around St Albans, Hertfordshire, have been decorated with crocheted and knitted creations.

Two disappeared overnight on Tuesday, including one made by a charity due to benefit from the event.

Organiser Clare Suttie said it was "sad that some people tried to spoil it".

The toppers, many depicting Christmas scenes, were made by a team of about seven, who have been working on them since March.

They appeared on the postboxes on 1 December and are "secured as tightly as possible".

People who enjoy them are asked to make a donation, which is split between three local charities.

The toppers were replaced the next day

One of the toppers was made by a team at Earthworks, which offers horticulture training to people with learning disabilities, and was on a postbox in Colney Heath Lane.

The second disappeared from Cell Barnes Lane.

But organisers managed to replace them the next day with others that had been saved for a competition.

Ms Suttie thanked "queen of all yarn-bombers" Candy Stuart for replacing them, but said they were no resources to make any more.

"It's just a shame. It's a real pleasure to do it, this is an event that everyone loves... it makes me sad that some people try to spoil it," she said.

"But luckily the enjoyment everybody gets from the display overrides the disappointment."

An Earthworks spokeswoman said they had been sad to hear of their topper's disappearance, but touched that it had been replaced so quickly.

A small team have been working on the toppers for nine months

The decorations are "secured as tightly as possible"

Each topper is sponsored by a local business