Gormley statues duck out of sight

• The second in the series of statues shows the ravages of the recent heavy rains, which have caused two of the five in the Water of Leith to disappear. Picture: Jane Barlow

Now the cast-iron figures acclaimed artist Antony Gormley created for Edinburgh's Water of Leith at a cost of 400,000 have vanished after falling victim to recent heavy rain.

Two of his six statues along the river have been toppled by torrents just four weeks after being installed by the National Galleries of Scotland, which spent three years planning where to locate them.

However galleries officials and Lothian and Borders Police chiefs, both of whom received calls reporting the figures missing from their usual spots at Powderhall and Bonnington, believe the sculptures are still in place beneath the waters.

The four statues which have been installed in the river itself are fitted with a special pin mechanism which topples them over to avoid them being damaged in bad weather - or from becoming a flood hazard themselves by blocking debris floating down the waterways.

Conservation experts said the figures may have to spend weeks hidden from view over the winter in the event of more heavy rainfall, raising questions about the wisdom of installing them.

It is not known when galleries staff will attempt to retrieve the figures, although "thorough investigations" of each site are promised before they are restored to their former glory.

However NGS said it had no intention of moving the figures, despite two of them falling to the first spell of bad weather since they were installed.

Each life-size figure weighs around three-quarters of a ton. Gormley said they have been built to "last about 1,000 years."

Each figure has been moulded out of a cast of his body. He used a similar cast for his Angel of the North and recent installations on Merseyside. At the time of their unveiling last month, he said: "I'm not too worried, these works are fairly robust. They weigh three-quarters of a ton each, they are solid cast-iron. I would say that they should last about 1,000 years."

Gormley's installation, entitled 6 Times, was commissioned by the NGS. A trail has been created from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, where the first figure is buried in the grounds up to its chest, to Leith Docks, where the last can be seen at the end of a ruined pier.

Scotland saw almost a month's rainfall in just ten hours on Wednesday, and Edinburgh had almost an inch in four hours. The Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood was among those to suffer major flooding problems.

A spokesman for NGS said it was "highly likely" the figures were lying flat on the riverbed.

He added: "The figures installed in the river are fitted with a mechanism which topples them over in the event of the river rising to a certain level at the location, or the level of water pressure.

"We spent a long time planning their installation with a range of city bodies. They have been designed to ensure that they don't end up becoming a flood hazard themselves, by trapping debris coming down the river when the water is rising.

"Once the water has receded a thorough investigation of each site will be undertaken and the figures will be restored, but there's no question of them being moved elsewhere. A great deal of thought was given into their locations.

The Water of Leith Conservation Trust also said it had received reports about the "missing" statues on Thursday.

Charlotte Neary, community and volunteers officer, said: "All the figures are checked every couple of weeks to ensure they have not been damaged or vandalised.

"When the river is in spate and a flood risk possible the statues will fall over so they do not impede the flow or get damaged themselves by large items washing down the river.

"No-one has been in to have a look for them, but we're pretty sure they've simply been topped over by the force of water."

A police spokesman said: "We have calls reporting these figures missing, but we are satisfied they have not been removed."