Dad's Army statue's glasses vandalised in Thetford

The glasses were squashed and will have to be replaced

A statue depicting the much-loved Dad's Army character Captain Mainwaring has been vandalised.

The bronze sculpture, in Bridge Street in Thetford, Norfolk, has had its glasses squashed which will now have to be replaced, the Dad's Army Museum said in a tweet.

The life-size bronze cast of the character, played by Arthur Lowe, is seated on a bench by the river.

It was unveiled in June 2010 and was funded by group Friends of the Museum.

The sitcom, about the Home Guard during World War II, was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and first ran between 1968 and 1977.

Actor Arthur Lowe played the role of Captain Mainwaring in the sitcom

Many of the classic sitcom's scenes were filmed in and around Thetford and many of the cast stayed at the Old Anchor Hotel during filming in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Dad's Army Museum took to Twitter to show the damage to the sculpture.

More than 17,000 people have seen the post and some commented on the vandalism, with one asking: "Why, just why? An actor loved by the nation and that's how one or two treat his memory. Society today has no respect."

Norfolk Police confirmed the incident was reported to them on Wednesday and they are investigating.

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