Assington church calls for missing stone dove to be returned

The sculpture depicts Noah's hands holding a dove above the Ark

A church has appealed for a stone dove, which disappeared from the middle of a sculpture, to be returned.

The artwork, known as The Renewal of Life, was on display at St Edmund's Church in Assington, Suffolk.

It was created by the late Richard Heseltine, a former churchwarden and decorated war veteran who lived in the village for nearly 60 years.

Reverend Daniel Whiffin said: "The loss of the dove from Dick's sculpture is felt keenly by the whole village."

Maj Heseltine, who was awarded the Military Cross in 1944, was a fruit farmer and self-taught artist.

He worked as a churchwarden for 25 years and donated the sculpture upon his retirement, Mr Whiffin said.

The dove was last seen during this year's Remembrance service

"The sculpture is named The Renewal of Life because its subject is the release of the dove by Noah from the Ark," he said.

"In the Bible, the dove embodies the promise of life following the devastating flood."

It had become customary for a poppy to be placed on the dove's beak for Remembrance Day in recognition of Mr Heseltine.

While the dove was in situ for this year's service, it was not seen after.

The church reported the missing dove to the police but also appealed for help from the wider community for its return.

Mr Whiffin added: "Our desire, like most village churches, is for our building to be open as much as possible for the benefit of the whole community, so we stand together with our community against crime.

"We would be overjoyed to see it returned."

Suffolk Police said it had launched an investigation and wanted witnesses to get in touch.

It added that the dove was "taken from St Edmund's Church between 12 November and 30 November".