Blackpool Gaucho: Family's dismay at missing £15k bronze statue

The Gaucho was on display at the entrance to the Central Library until it was put into storage

The family of the benefactor who donated a bronze statue which has been stolen said Blackpool Council "should be taking more care" of its artworks.

The Gaucho - depicting a cowboy and his bucking bronco - was on display at the entrance to Blackpool's Central Library until it was put into storage.

The council kept the theft of the item, valued at £15,000, a secret for two years until a public appeal in October.

Council leader Lynn Williams has now confirmed the statue was not insured.

Despite a police investigation, there have been no clues to the whereabouts of the sculpture, which is known as Buffalo Bill due to its likeness to the showman.

The great-grandson of music hall entertainer Percy Honri, who donated the sculpture to the council, said the family was dismayed at the loss of the artefact.

"[It] seems to have spent most of its time in Blackpool in a storage depot, which is sad considering how many places the council owns where it could have been on display," Paul Honri told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"I think whoever stole it probably had no idea what it was and took it just for the metal and to melt it down.

"We are disappointed and sad it's never going to be found because it was nice to know the family had given that statue, although when we tried to visit it was in storage."

'Taking care'

Mr Honri, who lives in Gloucestershire, said the family had offered to take it back a number of times "but we were stonewalled".

"Councils should be taking more care of what they have," he said.

Cast in bronze, the sculpture by Walter Winans is 4ft 8in (1.46m) high and weighs approximately half a tonne.

It is thought it was either commissioned for the Great Exhibition held at Crystal Palace in 1851 as part of the American display, or for the World Fair in New York where it was also on display.

Councillor Ms Williams confirmed at a full council meeting that the statue had not been insured due to its weight.

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