Police in the town of Shrewsbury are investigating a vandalism incident after a tombstone that marked the fictional grave of Ebenezer Scrooge has been destroyed.
The prop was used in the 1984 adaption of A Christmas Carol, which sees grumpy businessman Ebenezer Scrooge taught the error of his ways, and the true Christmas spirit, by three ghosts.
The gravestone was kept in place after filming and became a tourist attraction – until its recent vandalisation.
As reported by AP, Town Clerk Helen Ball said the town is discussing what should be done to fix or replace the movie prop that is “hugely popular” with both residents and visitors, especially at this time of year.
Visitors to Shrewsbury can take part in festive tours of filming locations used in the movie, including the gravestone.
“There’s not much to see other than broken bits of the gravestone,” Ball told The Associated Press. “You can’t see that it says Ebenezer Scrooge at the moment because it’s so damaged. It’s hugely disrespectful.”
For those unfamiliar with the movie itself, A Christmas Carol sees Scrooge - played by George C. Scott in the 1984 adaptation - visited by the ghosts of past, present and future.
Each one teaches Scrooge an important lesson that helps him to become a kinder person, with the final one showing him his own grave, where he’s buried alone and unloved.
Local police believe the gravestone used in the movie was vandalised at some point between Thursday (November 21) and Sunday (November 24), with photos showing it smashed into several pieces.
The nature of the crime has left locals including Ball reasoning that there’s a perfect punishment for the incident.
“If the ghosts of past, present and future would like to visit (the vandals) in the middle of the night and drop them and break them in pieces, I think that would be a perfect punishment,” she said.
