Thieves made off with a broken Venetian lady statue - leaving her perfectly intact sister behind.

A pair of matching female statues and two cherub statues were cemented into the ground outside the Baby Shop, in Elmstead Market, as part of a revamp at the store.

But thieves made off with just one of the statues, and that one had a broken arm.

The shop's owners believe the thieves must have been disturbed in the middle of the night, as they had tried to loosen the other statues from the ground.

The statue was stolen just hours after it was cemented into the ground.

Because of the distinctiveness of the broken-armed statue, the owners hope she might be spotted by members of the public.

Christiana Adams, owner of the Baby Shop, said the damage caused was a setback to the store's makeover.

She said: "The inside will soon be looking really good, but the outside now looks terrible."

She added: "We are scared to put them all out there again."

Anyone with information about the incident, which happened during the early hours of Sunday morning, or the whereabouts of the stolen statue, should contact Clacton police on 01255 221312 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

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