Residents and visitors to Nottingham have spoken out after the city's Robin Hood statue was vandalised just days after a £6,000 refurbishment was completed.
The arrow was damaged between 3pm on Friday and 4pm on Saturday.
It was later recovered by a Nottingham City Council worker.
It comes after work took place last month to repair the statue which suffered a broken bow last year, leaving the city council with a £6,000 repair bill.
This is not the first time Robin has had his trademark weapon damaged, his bow was also broken in 2018, 2009 and 2008.
Visitors and residents of Nottingham reacting with anger and sadness to this latest act of vandalism.
David Mew, 33, is a software programmer who frequently works in a café opposite the statue.
He said: "I often see holidaymakers taking photos of themselves hanging off the arrow, so I can see why it was replaced in the first place.
"Its quote annoying, it gets broken quite a lot.
"I presume there's someone somewhere with a large collection of metal arrows.”
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Shannah Few, 20, is a first year student at Nottingham University taking a friend on a tour of the city she now calls home.
She said: "It's an atrocity. Taking the arrow is more of a statement than stealing anything else because of all the heritage around Robin Hood.
“The arrow being broken so soon after its fixed doesn’t look good does it?
"I just don't understand why someone would steal something like that, what's the point?”
Jason Horton, 29, is Manager of Fothergills restaurant, which is directly opposite the statue.
He said: “We always see people swinging from the statue.
“Robin is a symbol of the city but I don’t think this damage has any deep meaning, they just need to protect it from hen parties and schoolkids better.”
Oliver Fox, 25, works as a project coordinator at a local art gallery.
He said: “Robin Hood is part of our cultural identity, its baked into our heritage, so it is symbolic that he keeps being damaged like this.
“I don’t think there’s any point in blaming the individuals who did it.
If it keeps happening, surely the council has to think ‘what can we do to protect the statue better?’”
Alan Baldwin, 62, who is the Chief of Police in Seward, Nebraska and was visiting the city, said he was upset that he would not get to see Robin in his full glory.
He said: "We have travelled all the way from Nebraska to see Robin Hood, I am a big Robin Hood fan and I am really disappointed that he doesn't have his arrow.
"The individuals stole this can't have done it for money, so why?
"It's ironic, the prince of thieves has had his arrow stolen."
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