Six-foot bronze crucifix worth £20,000 is stolen from church garden of remembrance in Newcastle

A six-foot £20,000 bronze crucifix has been stolen from a church garden of remembrance in Newcastle.

Thieves took the sculpture from a garden the place mourners scattered the ashes of their family members outdoors All Saints Church in Gosforth, Newcastle.   

The crucifix, which was erected in the church’s remembrance garden in 1965, was stolen in a single day on Thursday.

Neighbourhood Inspector Harninder Bola, of Northumbria Police, is interesting to the thieves’ consciences, describing the congregation as ‘devastated’.

Brazen thieves took the sculpture (pictured) from a garden the place mourners scattered the ashes of their family members outdoors All Saints Church in Gosforth, Newcastle

Thieves took the sculpture from a garden the place mourners scattered the ashes of their family members outdoors All Saints Church. Pictured: The place the six-foot £20,000 bronze crucifix as soon as stood

He stated: ‘This is a extremely sentimental piece of the remembrance garden at All Saints and the church and its congregation are understandably devastated.

‘The crucifix watched over an space the place the ashes of the group’s family members have been scattered and these thieves have disturbed that space throughout their raid.

‘Respected scrap sellers won’t settle for this cross and we’d ask the thieves to do the appropriate factor and return it to the church and its congregation.’

Neighbourhood Inspector Harninder Bola, of Northumbria Police, is interesting to the thieves’ consciences, describing the congregation as ‘devastated’. Pictured, the crucifix

He stated the ‘ache and anguish you will have brought about shouldn’t be underestimated’, including ‘there is no worth in protecting the crucifix’.  

The Reverend Canon Andrew Shipton, of All Saints Church, stated the theft had brought about ‘appreciable unhappiness’ amongst his congregation and the broader group.

He stated: ‘The crucifix was located in a consecrated space the place many ashes are buried. It was an ideal shock to seek out that the bronze statue of our Lord had gone and a trigger of appreciable unhappiness.’

The crucifix was sculpted by internationally acclaimed artist Frank Roper who undertook work for church buildings and cathedrals throughout the nation earlier than his demise in 2005.