Artist left stunned as work taken yet again

THEY were an artist's pride and joy, but were cruelly snatched within 36 hours of going on display.

Now Mike Inglis has experienced a case of dj vu after his artwork was stolen for a second time - just hours after being reinstalled in the original location.

Earlier this month, the Evening News reported that eight of the ten larger-than-life metal figures that Mr Inglis, 44, created had been stolen or vandalised.

Only two of the ten figures, which showed members of the Broxburn and Livingston Brass Band playing musical instruments, remained unscathed, with seven stolen and one so badly damaged that it was beyond repair.

Mr Inglis, who started working on the artwork in May last year, created the figures as part of the Shale People Project to celebrate the history of Broxburn and Uphall and the area's shale mining past, but instead the group behind the project was left with a 2000 bill to replace the artwork.

The figures, the largest of which was around 6ft 8in, were installed on the walls of several buildings using six-inch bolts and heavy-duty glue.

Last Thursday, Kirkcaldy-based The Sign Company offered to reproduce and reinstall the figures again for a reduced price - this time with many additional screws through the body of the figures for maximum security.

However, one of the figures which was positioned on the fire door of Broxburn Swimming Pool - the only figure made of vinyl - was stolen again within 24 hours of being installed.

Mr Inglis, a father of two who lives in Culross, said: "It was really frustrating. I had reservations about putting them up again so quickly, I felt we should've perhaps waited a little while to allow the community a bit of time to register what had happened.

"The Sign Company reinstalled them out of the goodness of their hearts for 600, which is one third of the total cost. We thought we could negotiate something with them but nothing like that.

"They offered without us asking and I was very surprised and very touched.

"As a long-established signage company, they had never known such vandalism towards any of their previous installations anywhere in the country."

He added: "We can only hope that the figures are going to be allowed a bit of time in the community now."

Shale People Project co-ordinator and local artist, Shirley-Anne Murdoch, 50, who lives in Broxburn, said five of the seven stolen works had been found by members of the public, the majority of which were discovered at a bus stop in Uphall.

She said: "Unfortunately all artworks returned were so torn or buckled in the process of removal that they were deemed of no use for repositioning.

"What's important here is that the community has rallied around to help in any way they can and crucially have connected to, and taken ownership of, this great series of artworks. There is a great security in that."

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