ART trail organisers have been left “heartbroken” after one of the sculptures was found toppled just days before it is due to end.

The Herd in the City elephants have been placed around Southend to raise funds for Havens Hospices.

On Sunday morning Lollie the elephant was found lying on its side in Leigh Library Gardens.

The artist, David Maguire and sponsor Forrester Hyde have been informed, as well as Leigh Town Council and the Community Policing Team.

Echo: Elephant: Lollie after the damageElephant: Lollie after the damage (Image: Havens Hospice)

The charity believes it is unlikely the elephant will return to the trial because of the extent of the damage.

On social media, artist David Maguire said: "I'm absolutely crushed to see this this morning. I spent weeks carefully painting her and all of the little details on each ice cream and lolly and it's terrible for it all to be ruined so close to the end of the trail.

"It's so sad that she won't be able to be on display until the end thanks to some mindless individual who clearly has issues if they can't leave charity art sculptures alone.

"I hope those that did get to visit Lollie when she was looking her best, enjoyed meeting her and appreciated the love that went into creating her."

Organisers hope visitors will continue to enjoy the other sculptures as the charity trail comes to an end this week.

There are 45 remaining elephant sculptures and 72 baby elephants located around Southend, Leigh and Shoeburyness. 

All the elephants will come together on September 23 and 24 at Saxon Hall for a farewell weekend before being auctioned on September 26. 

A spokesperson for Havens Hospices said: “We are aware of the deliberate damage to Lollie at Leigh Library Gardens and are heartbroken that someone has done this to one of our beloved elephants.

“Unfortunately, they are too badly injured to remain on the trail, so they have had to be removed whilst we assess the extent and cost of the damage. We will be working with the relevant authorities to investigate this incident.

“Our artists spend hours creating these masterpieces for everyone to enjoy and to raise vital funds for Havens Hospices, caring for babies, children and adults living with an incurable condition.

“We hope Lollie can still go to auction and be sold to fund our free, specialist care for local families.

“We really don’t want this incident to spoil our wonderful trail, so we hope everyone will continue to enjoy our other sculptures in the final week.

“If you had planned to visit Lollie during the last week of the trail, you can still ‘collect’ this on the app by using the code 8473.”