A major East Lothian tourist attraction has been subjected to "mindless" vandalism, repeatedly "spoiling people's enjoyment" of the sculpture.
The DunBear, a five-metre high steel sculpture of a bear, located just next to the A1, outside Dunbar, has seen the solar panels used to illuminate the attraction, vandalised once again after several previous similar incidents.
Built in 2019, the bear was built as a tribute to the late John Muir, one of East Lothian's most famous sons.
READ MORE: Edinburgh Weather LIVE: Storm Eunice updates as capital braced for snow
The Dunbar-born naturalist and conservationist played a key role in the establishment of National Parks in the USA, including Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, and was hugely influential in global wildlife conservation. National Parks played a major role in the conservation of the brown bear.
The much-loved and well-visited steel sculpture was created by Andy Scott, the renowned Scottish sculptor also responsible for creating other stunning public artworks, including The Kelpies near Falkirk.
But, yesterday, February 17, members of the DunBear Park, the area in which the sculpture stands, reported vandalism of the solar panels and uploaded images of the smashed property.
The team said that it is not the first time this has happened and not only is it costly to repair the damage, it is spoiling people's enjoyment of the attraction.
In a statement on Facebook, they said: "Disappointingly, the solar panels which power the lighting up of The DunBear have been vandalised yet again, the latest in a long run of occasions when this has happened.
"This is not only inconvenient and costly to repair but is spoiling people's enjoyment of the sculpture. We have reported this persistent damage to the police on an ongoing basis, but if you witness this happening if you could please report it and we can try and address it together."
The DunBear is the centrepiece for a proposed exemplar low carbon community being undertaken by Hallhill Developments, with plans to built new homes, retail outlets and leisure facilities on the 54-acre area of land.
Adding to the frustration of the recent vandalism of the DunBear attraction, Ken Ross from Hallhill Developments, responsible for The DunBear, part of the DunBear Park development, commented: "It is really disappointing to see the solar panels which power the lighting of The DunBear sculpture have been vandalised yet again.
"A tribute to the pioneering Dunbar-born naturalist and conservationist, John Muir, the sculpture is well-loved by the local community and has attracted footfall to the town, benefiting it immensely.
"Not only is it inconvenient and costly to continue having to repair the panels, but it is spoiling people’s enjoyment of the sculpture, which is also lit up with different colours on different key dates, such as Valentine’s Day and St Andrew’s Day.
"We would urge those seeing this happening to report this to the police and working together we can hopefully end these persistent acts of mindless vandalism."
