AN artist has issued a plea to find out if a mosaic created to celebrate the gift of life given through organ donation has been stolen.

The River of Life was put in Colchester Hospital's entrance back in 2017 having been commissioned by the Organ Donation Trust,

The piece was created by Anne Schwegmann-Fielding using donated pieces of crockery from Colchester and Tendring hospitals, including the wedding plate of a friend's mother.

It was created to represent the gift of life shared by donating organs.

But now a mosaic goose and heron have vanished from the installation and Anne wants to find out why.

Anne, who was commissioned by the Organ Donation Trust, noticed that the goose and heron had vanished back in February, after picking her sister up from an operation.

Since then, Anne has been trying to find out why her pieces have vanished from the wall, and whether the piece has been damaged or stolen.

Anne has attempted to find out the whereabouts of her piece several times, with no success.

Gazette: Commissioned - The piece was commissioned by the Organ Donation Trust. Picture: Adam ScottCommissioned - The piece was commissioned by the Organ Donation Trust. Picture: Adam Scott

Her previous contact at the hospital, who was involved in the project, has since retired.

The Organ Donation Trust commissioned Anne in 2017, looking for something to welcome visitors as well as thank organ donors for sharing the ultimate gift of life.

The crockery used for the pieces was donated from hospitals all over Colchester, including doctors surgeries in Clacton and Harwich.

Anne stated that she is happy for the anonymous return of the birds to the hospital or her studio, at Ardleigh Studios.

She said: "The River of Life Mosaic was created for the people of Colchester using fragments of their crockery, sea glass and jewels. It has given comfort to so many.

“I still get messages from people about how it helped them during a difficult time. The act of stealing, especially from a hospital, from an artwork based on the Gift of Life, is sadly very selfish.

“They could have commissioned a piece quite easily, but these sculptures cannot be replaced.  The Heron's wing for example was created from a friend's late mother's wedding plate - how can that be replaced?"