Plottingham Field: Greta Berlin sculpture vandalised

The ‘Skateboarder’ sculpture, created by Greta Berlin, has been left in a mangled heap on the ground at Bridport skate park. 

The artwork, which is part of the ‘Life Size and Larger’ collection, depicts an abstract person skateboarding in Plottingham Field and was discovered vandalised on Wednesday morning.

Bridport Skate Park (Image: NQ)

The actions of the vandals have been met with disappointment by Bridport Town Council leader, Cllr Dave Rickard, who said: “It’s really very disappointing. We have gone to quite a lot of trouble to work with local artists who have done it very largely for free.

“It’s very annoying and disappointing that there’s some people who feel that they have to break things and we are very sad about it.”

The artwork is part of the Bridport Sculpture Trail, with sculptures located on sites including Plottingham Field, Riverside Gardens, Borough Gardens and the Millennium Green.

READ: Nine new sculptures by Greta Berlin form the Bridport Sculpture Trail

Sadly, this is not the first of Ms Berlin’s creative sculptures around Bridport to have been vandalised; ‘The Rock Woman’ in Riverside Gardens was also vandalised in 2023, just a year after it was placed in the public gardens as part of a town sculpture trail.

The town council is hopeful that repairs can be made to the piece so that it can be restored to its former glory.

Cllr Rickard added: “Hopefully we can get the piece back together again, and apart from anything else, for the artists who put in so much time and effort, it must be devastating - It’s just not acceptable.”

READ: Community outrage after sculpture vandalised

The council leader suggests that these actions ‘cannot be put up with and must be stamped out,’ adding that ‘it’s probably more about education than anything else.’

He said: “Everybody has appreciated the sculptures and is something nice that the town council has been able to do. Most people love living in Bridport – it’s such a friendly town.”