A MIDDLEWICH man who installed two popular wooden sculptures at the side of the canal has blasted thieves after one of them was stolen over the weekend.

Nigel Morton, of Shropshire Close, commissioned sculptor Mike Burgess to create the owl and eagle after having a 40ft cherry tree cut down in his back garden.

The two sculptures have proved to be immensely popular with town residents and visitors alike.

But when Nigel woke up on Monday morning he found the eagle was no longer there.

He told the Guardian he felt ‘sick to the stomach’ that someone could have stolen it.

“I’m absolutely gutted,” he said.

“We’ve gone to a lot of trouble to improve the town and we absolutely loved it. My grandchildren and my children loved it and even my wife did – and she wasn’t sure at the start.

“But when I told her it had gone she was devastated. It was the first thing I looked at in the morning and the last thing I looked at before I went to bed. I was up until midnight on Sunday night/Monday morning and the moon was shining on it and it looked great.”

Nigel said nettles around the sculptures had been flattened and there was evidence on the canal bank that the grass had been trampled.

“They may have just tied a rope around it,” he added.

“But it was glued and bolted on to the tree stump and that’s what makes me think they’ve just pulled it off. I feel sick to the stomach that someone would do something like this.

“When I spoke to people on the other side of the canal they said how much they enjoyed it – I just can’t understand the mentality of some people.

“There are enough decent people in Middlewich who enjoyed it who will want to see it back.”

If you have any information regarding the theft call Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 119 of April 14, 2014. Alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.