'Injured' Herd In The City art trail elephants taken for repairs

Nelly the Circus Elephant, usually on Rampart Terrace in Shoebury, is a "colourful, fun bright design of a clown elephant"

Organisers of an art trail have urged the public to "be gentle" after two elephant sculptures were damaged.

The Herd In The City trail includes 46 large elephant sculptures and 72 baby elephants in the streets of Southend, Shoeburyness and Leigh.

On Saturday, it was noticed that Nelly is "too badly injured to remain on the trail" and Waterline is "unstable", organisers said.

"We hope to have them both back out on display very soon," they added.

"They are friendly creatures, but they do need to be treated with respect, so we would ask our trail-goers to be gentle and refrain from climbing or swinging on them," a spokesman said.

Waterline by Mark Bradford celebrates "all the swimmers who take to the sea along our beautiful foreshore".

The elephants, each sponsored by a business, will be auctioned at the end of the trail in September to raise funds for Havens Hospices' specialist care.

Nelly the Circus Elephant, usually on Rampart Terrace in Shoebury, was designed by Sue White and is a "colourful, fun bright design of a clown elephant".

Waterline by Mark Bradford can usually been seen outside Metrobank on Southend's High Street and celebrates "all the swimmers who take to the sea along our beautiful foreshore".