A sculpture created by Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley which was loaned to Newcastle University has been vandalised.
Clasp, part of Sir Antony's Blockwork series, proved controversial among students when it was installed on King’s Walk, between the Students’ Union building and Northern Stage, last year.
Now, an investigation is under way after the 4.5m stack of iron bocks was vandalised.
Newcastle student newspaper The Courier reports that witnesses claim a man ran up to the statue just before 2.30pm on Monday, quickly spraying it with blue and yellow paint before running off.
One student, who spoke to ChronicleLive anonymously, said: "I had just come out of lectures, I walked past it and saw what had happened.
"From what I've heard, people have quite mixed feelings about it. Some are saying it's vandalism, but more people are saying that the piece itself felt like a bit of an intrusion on campus.
"I've heard people talking about it being a 'conversation' a lot: this is like a conversation between the people from here, the students, and the art and the artist, who aren't really from here."
Grey in colour when it first arrived, the sculpture has slowly turned a rusty colour, a transformation designed by the artist as “an organic response to environmental conditions”.
While university bosses said they were "honoured" to host the work, a Change.org petition set up by students after it was installed said it "has ruined the aesthetic of the campus".
A Newcastle University spokesperson said: "Our security teams are reviewing CCTV footage and are liaising with the police to help identify the individual, or individuals, responsible."
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: "At about 8.25pm, May 13, police received a report of graffiti of a sculpture on Newcastle University Campus.
"It is believed that the incident happened around 2.30pm the same day.
"Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 and quote reference number 1095 13/05/19."
'I thought a bomb had gone off' - Shock as driver crashes into parked cars on Shields Road
'Marauding drinkers' and 'hideous' stag parties: Fury as Jesmond hotels bid to extend booze licences
