Cavorting sailor statues to be thrown overboard

Published on Monday 1 December 2008 09:07

STATUES of three "cavorting sailors" in Leith have become so badly vandalised that they look set to be removed.

Community leaders say residents no longer want to keep the artworks, even though they were specially commissioned and installed five years ago as a tribute to the port's maritime history.

The statues next to Leith Library – designed by local artist Shaeron Averbuch – have been so badly damaged that some feel it is time for them to be taken away. Their faces have been destroyed and they are missing limbs.

Councillor Marjorie Thomas said: "The message that this damage gives sums up the worst aspect of Leith, that vandalism has the upper hand. Broken statues add nothing to this site and I think the whole area needs a rethink. It looks and feels very sad."

Residents were polled in a community survey over the future of the maritime structures, agreeing that in their current state they have no place in the area.

The council has confirmed that unless Ms Averbuch wants to keep the statues, they could be removed fairly quickly at a nominal cost.